Construction business in A'bad slows down by 40%: GICEA

The leading gold loan player is looking to open 130 branches in Gujarat from the current 115.

If with acute shortage of skilled manpower was not enough, the construction industry is facing a business slowdown of 40 per cent, says the Gujarat Institute of Civil Engineers and Architects (GICEA).

According to GICEA, construction industry players are either delaying projects or not taking up new projects for a while. "So far the industry was facing with severe shortage of skilled manpower. We had set up an institute to train skilled workers for the industry but it takes time to churn out. However, now business is also slowing down by 30-40 per cent with developers and contractors either postponing projects or not taking up new ones," said Bharat Modi, president, GICEA.

A premier institute of civil engineers and architects, GICEA comprises about 4300 members including civil engineers, architects, builders, developers, town planners, valuers, structural engineers, contractors etc, either employed or self employed.

According to Modi, the industry players are also forced to offer discounts to expedite business. "The business has also slowed down due to reducing number of contracts or job work assigned to construction contractors, many of which are our members. Moreover, developers and contractors are ready to offer discounts of about 10-15 per cent in a bid to expedite business or wrap up deals quickly," said Modi.

Amidst the business slowdown, the industry body is currently organising one of the largest construction conclave, Nirman 2011 in Ahmedabad.

Talking about the conclave, Modi said, "With each passing year we enhance the scale at which we conduct the conclave. Even amidst slowdown this year we intend to see the conclave as a success with more business coming in for the industry players."

Spread over an area of 5,00,000 sq. ft. and with more than 100 stalls, Nirman Exhibition will provide a forum to see, feel and experience an extensive range of products like - building materials, home décor products, construction equipment, facilities & services, construction ancillaries and so on.