EDITORIAL
As yet another year comes to an end, 2013, shall be a part of history in the tabernacle of times very shortly. The interregnum between the passing year and the year to usher in, shall give rise to two usual and general actions. Firstly, giving us a chance to introspect, learn from our mistakes and take forward those unfinished dreams. Secondly it brings in new rays of hope, new possibilities and new combinations.
In retrospection, 2013 saw some of the major natural and manmade disasters around the world including the devastating floods and landslides in the state of Uttarakhand, the strongest typhoon that slammed into Phillipines, the strongest cyclone that caused substantial damage in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, Earthquakes that shook the state of Himachal Pradesh, the lightening that struck Bihar killing 27 people within a flash, massive hailstorms hitting Chhatarpur of Madhya Pradesh, India, and many more. What do they really mean to us? Do we learn any lesson out of these catastrophes and initiate steps to face these unprecedented challenges?
Vandalizing the earth as it appears has become the business of Man. Human greed surpasses every need and what we have actually created and given back to this wonderful blue planet is nothing but cracking earth, vanishing forests, melting ice, little or no water, floods, traffic jams, slums and in a nut shell, we have made the Earth shrink in its potentialities. We have forgotten the inevitable fact that the manmade disasters, global warming are not a myth but a reality. Sustainability is an issue of global importance of our times and it becomes imperative to all the nations across the globe to take part in this endeavour proactively.
On the other side with a positive note, we have some of the greatest accomplishments during the year across the world including some in India. Our hearts swell with pride and heads bow down with respect when we look at those images of spacecraft launched for the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), India's first successful attempt at an interplanetary mission. The tunnel through Pir-Panjal sector, the Metro rails and swanky Airports, the freeways, the Bus Rapid Transport systems, the world’s highest railway bridge at Chinab (under construction), the Expressways, the Solar Parks and GIFT city of Gujrat and crowning it all, the world's longest sea bridge The Jiaozhou Bay bridge over the misty sea waters of China that recently opened to the public, speak volumes about the role of Engineers and Architects as nation builders across the globe.
It is also time for us to realise as to why the construction industry in India suffers from major time and cost overruns. Data from government and industry reports suggest that projects suffer from 20 to 25 percent time and cost overruns. Waste of resources has been identified as a major source of inefficiency. Despite a substantial increase in the past few years, demand for professionals and contractors still exceeds supply by a large margin. The traditional methods adopted in the Indian construction industry may not suffice the needs of this dynamic environment, as they have produced large inefficiencies. The construction market in India in 2012 was 22 percent of India's GDP, equivalent to only a third of the size of the construction market in China, despite similar population levels suggesting India’s built environment market offers a significant opportunity.
The Indian Construction market is all poised to usher in with a new vigor and a new strategy. The residential construction spending is expected to gain momentum as increasing urbanization continues to drive the demand for new homes in cities along with the Government's initiative to push through some of the mega infrastructure projects. One of the events is the auction to be held for the construction of a colossally huge solar project amounting to 4,000 MW by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
With this issue, Built Expressions completes its second year of dedicated service to the fraternity. I take this opportunity on behalf of the entire team of Built Expressions to wish all its readers A very happy, meaningful and purposeful year ahead.
Ajit Sabnis