by Prof Saugata Roy

Prof. Saugata Roy, Minister of State for Urban Development inaugurated the Conference on Infrastructure Management today in New Delhi. Mr Roy mentioned that the Infrastructure Development in India continues to be the focus for the government. The Minister mentioned that there has been considerable progress in the last few years in attracting investment in the infrastructure sectors. The 12th five year plan also lays emphasis on bringing in huge investment in this sector. He spoke about the development in infrastructure through various PPP projects and gave examples of DIAL and Kolkata airports. He also spoke that in future majority of India’s population will live in urban areas. This would make India’s urban infrastructure grow fastest among BRIC countries. All this will put a great demand on Infrastructure Development which would require good infrastructure for sustained growth. Building reservoir of skilled manpower for having the best infrastructure through PPP model is the need of the hour and it’s important that all stakeholders come forward in the development.

Mr Anshuman Magazine

CMD, CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd mentioned that with billions of rupees being invested in enhancing country’s infrastructure, attention needs to be given to maintain and manage this infrastructure to international quality standards. This is important for enhancing the life/durability of Infrastructure Developments, be it an airport, highway, office space, hotels or residential development etc, besides, provide optimal services for facilitating a productive working and living environment.

Mr Amitabh Kant

IAS, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, DMICDC mentioned that the use of technology and the growth in the manufacturing is imperative for the growth in the Infrastructure sector. He mentioned that in comparison to other developed countries, revolutionary change in the infrastructure sector has just begun in India. He emphasised the use of latest technology, detailed engineering, PPP models to ensure the rapid development in this sector.

Mr Virat Bhatia,

Chairman, CII Delhi State Council & President – IEA, South Asia, AT&T, delivered the concluding remarks and mentioned that all these projects bring in lots of business opportunities for the corporate.

Other eminent speakers at the conference were Mr B R Nagaraj, Head Real Estate – India, Google India P Ltd; Mr Partha Roy, Vice President, Bharti Airtel Ltd; Mr Sameer Saxena, Head APAC, Headstrong Services and Mr Deepak Kumar, Head Real Estate – India, Nokia Seimens Networks.

The conference was attended by facilities management experts from various firms like Dell International Services, Boston Consulting Group, The Hindustan Times, Barclays, Sapient Technologies Ltd and Deloitte.