By IANS
New Delhi : The booming Indian construction industry, currently worth $70 billion, would soar up to a value of $120 billion by 2010, giving rise to a demand for manpower of over 90 million, says a leading industry lobby.
The sector, which currently employs about 30 million people, would provide immense direct and indirect job opportunities requiring both skilled and unskilled workforce within the same period, according to the study – "India's Construction Industry: Growth, Opportunities and Constraints" – conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).
The sector's contribution to the country's GDP would also increase to four percent in the coming years.
"The massive investment in the construction industry will be driven by the growing requirements of sectors such as transportation, power, urban infrastructure, housing and irrigation to ensure that the industry grows at the projected level," Assocham president Venugopal Dhoot said in a statement.
He also said that other aspects such as the massive golden quadrilateral and other highway construction projects, the coming in of private players in various infrastructure projects, allowing 100 percent foreign investment in the retail sector would together accelerate the growth of the construction industry at 15 percent a year.
According to Assocham, the government would invest about $150 billion in the next five to six years for the development of the country's infrastructure, in which $60 billion would be poured into building roads across the country.
Besides, the telecom sector itself would require investments of up to $10 billion by 2015-17.
The civil aviation industry, which is also expected to boost the construction sector on the back of rising air passenger traffic, would require investments of $4 billion within the next decade.
The construction industry, as it grows, would also require a large number of civil engineers and even though thousands of engineering graduates pass out in India, a minimal number prefers civil engineering jobs to IT, BPO and banks, the study noted.
The demand for contractors would also increase with the saturation of contracting agencies that are already overloaded with a large number of projects.
The chamber has also suggested initiatives to propel the financial growth of the sector such as making available construction material at competitive rates and encourage banks and other lending agencies to develop lending norms as per the specific requirements of the industry.