Need to find ways to boost adoption of modern construction tech: Minister

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said more than 60 crore people are estimated to reside in cities by 2030 because of rapid urbanisation and stressed the need to increase adoption of new technologies in the construction industry.

The minister was addressing a conference on 'Adoption of New and Emerging Building Materials and Technologies in Construction Industry', being organised by realtors' apex body CREDAI, which represents more than 13,000 developer members.

"It is imperative we find feasible ways to increase the adoption of emerging materials and technologies in the construction industry," Puri said.

Talking about the government's commitment in this regard, Puri recalled that the Prime Minister had emphasised the need to accelerate the movement from these older technologies into new cutting-edge technologies in the construction industry.

On its part, the ministry has short-listed 54 innovative construction technologies from all over the world under the Global Housing Technology Challenge and six light house projects were selected in Chennai, Rajkot, Indore, Lucknow, Ranchi and Agartala under which 6,368 houses are being built using innovative construction technologies.

"With these light house projects, I believe that the Modi government has laid down the roadmap for the construction industry to reorient itself and support the vision of the Prime Minister in achieving net zero emission by 2030," Puri said.

He cited various benefits of the use of new technologies in these six projects -- 50 per cent reduction in construction time, 15-20 per cent saving of cement, 20 per cent reduction in construction waste, 10-20 per cent reduction in cost of construction, 20-25 per cent enhanced thermal comfort, 4-Star green GRIHA rating, low lifecycle cost, 20 per cent reduction in energy and 35 per cent reduction in GHG emissions, among others.

The project in Chennai, comprising 1,152 houses, was completed in a record 12 months. The project in Rajkot, consisting of 1,144 houses, has also been delivered and the remaining four projects will also be completed shortly, he said.

"India in 2030 will have an urban population of over 600 million. Cities, as the hub of economic activity, will be responsible for more than 70 per cent of the country's GDP by 2030," Puri said.

With rapid urbanisation and faster economic growth, the minister said there will be a lot of business potential for the construction and real estate industries in the next two decades or so. He asked the industry players to gear up to encash this growth opportunity.

At the same time, Puri said cities are also major contributors to climate change.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that cities emit up to 75 per cent of the global CO2-equivalent emissions globally. Buildings and urban transport are amongst the largest contributors.

He expressed confidence that India will be second globally in the metro network.

"We are slowly but surely on the way to establishing the world's second largest metro system. That's going to happen before too long," he said, adding that much of the acceleration in building metros has happened in the last nine years.

"The Modi government has viewed urbanisation as an opportunity for multifaceted growth. India boasts to have one of the most comprehensive programmes for planned urbanisation," he said.

On the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), Puri said this mission has not only addressed the issue of affordable housing for India's urban poor but has also created sustainable and green infrastructure.

The PMAY-U has emerged as one of the largest affordable housing schemes in the world by sanctioning more than 1.18 crore houses. Out of these, work has started for 1.13 crore houses and more than 76 lakh houses have been delivered to beneficiaries.

"About 43.3 lakh houses under the mission are being constructed using sustainable building materials such as fly ash bricks/blocks and AAC blocks. These houses will contribute to a reduction of 9 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by the end of December 2024," Puri said.

Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Manoj Joshi said there is a need to take new technologies to smaller cities.

Joshi said state-owned NBCC and CPWD (Central Public Works Department) will use new technologies for the construction of government buildings.

CREDAI Chairman Manoj Gaur and CREDAI President Boman Irani also spoke about the initiatives taken by the association to promote green buildings.