CII promotes top Indian construction show

Excon 2007 would boost trade between India and Sri Lanka in the construction equipment sector, says Minister Rajitha Senaratne

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is organising Excon 2007, India’s largest and only focused construction equipment and construction technology trade fair, in association with Indian Earthmoving and Construction Industry Association Ltd (IECIAL), at Bangalore to be held between November 14 – 18, 2007. This five-day exhibition is expected to attract 300 exhibitors and 55,000 business visitors across the globe.

Addressing a Road Show on Excon 2007 organised by the CII in association with Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) last week, Construction and Engineering Services Minister Rajitha Senaratne, who was the Chief Guest at the Road Show said, “There is plenty of potential for expanding bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and India. In order to exploit this potential, both countries need to look at broader areas for cooperation, including the construction sector.”
The Minister said that under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, Sri Lanka has tremendous potential to enhance its trade with India. Excon 2007 would give a fillip in enhancing the trade between the two countries especially in the construction equipment sector.

Excon 2007 Chairman and JCB India Limited Managing Director/CEO Vipin Sondhi, in his presentation on Excon 2007 said, “Excon is Asia’s third largest trade fair for equipment industry and amongst world’s top 10 construction equipment and construction technology trade fairs.” Besides showcasing world class products and services in the construction equipment sector, it would also demonstrate the technological prowess of the construction equipment industry.
Sondhi said that the Indian Government has accorded top priority for the growth of infrastructure sector.

To achieve a new vision of growth, the Planning Commission, Government of India has estimated that the total investment in infrastructure has to increase from 4.5% to around 7.5% of the GDP in the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012). During the Eleventh Five Year Plan, projected investments of approximately US $ 475 billion, has been envisaged in the Indian infrastructure sector. This has led to the huge opportunities for private sector participation in the infrastructure development.

He also opined that India is increasingly becoming the construction equipment and component sourcing base for construction equipment and hence the construction and infrastructure sector in Sri Lanka can utilise Excon 2007 to identify potential business partners for sourcing construction equipment/technologies.

‘Excon 2007’ is a demonstrative exhibition wherein most exhibitors do active demonstrations of their equipments to communicate to the visitors on the versatility/capability of the equipments. In short, he said that Excon 2007 will be “a one stop shop for construction equipment buying.”

CCC Deputy Secretary General Malcolm Atton, in his opening remarks said that the CII and the CCC are working closely for the past several years in promoting economic cooperation between India and Sri Lanka. The CII and CCC have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 1994 and formed a Joint Task Force. The Joint Task Force has identified specific areas of cooperation.

He said that CCC has been playing a catalytic role for the industrial development in Sri Lanka. The Chamber is continuously exploring business opportunities for its members and ‘Excon 2007’ is one such event, wherein, the construction industry in Sri Lanka could benefit through knowledge sharing, joint ventures, etc.

Excon 2007 Steering Committee Member – CII and Schwing Stetter India Pvt Ltd Managing Director Anand Sundaresan, in his concluding remarks said that Excon, currently in its fourth edition, has grown to become one of the important construction equipment events in Asia Pacific. On behalf of CII, he invited all participants to visit Bangalore to attend the Excon 2007 event.

Excon 2007 would feature participation of international delegates – CEOs from around 16 countries are expected to take part in the event. There will be international pavilions from Germany, United Kingdom, South Korea, Italy and China. Apart from the exhibition, Excon 2007 is organising a Group CEO’s Session on ‘Indian Construction Equipment Industry: Prospects and Opportunities’ on November 14, 2007 at Bangalore. The theme will be – ‘Construction equipment industry as a facilitator to India’s infrastructure growth – challenges and opportunities for the next decade.’
An International Conference on Construction Equipment Industry with the theme: ‘Present Scenario and Challenges Ahead’ will be held from November 15 – 17, 2007.

As a part of Excon 2007, CII and IECIAL will be releasing a report on ‘The Construction Industry in India.’ The report will feature key global trends and forces affecting the competitiveness of the construction equipment industry.