India offers a wealth of opportunities. Roads are being laid all the over the country. Airports are waiting in line for upgradation. Ports are ramping up to handle more traffic. Telecom subscribers are increasing by the millions. Power generation is next in line.
Power : Over 90,000 MW of new generation capacity is required in the next seven years. A corresponding investment is required in transmission and distribution networks.
Power costs need to be reduced from the current high of 8-10 cents/unit by a combination of lower AT & C losses, increased generation efficiencies and added low cost generating capacity.
Telecommunications: The telecommunications market in India is projected to grow 30-40 per cent per annum to reach 250 million subscribers by 2009-2010. Over 5 million new users are added every month – mostly in wireless.
Roads: The roads sector requires over US$ 50–60 billion investment over the next 5 years to improve road infrastructure. Passenger traffic is projected to grow at 12-15 per cent and cargo traffic at 15-18 per cent.
Ports: Cargo handling at all the ports is projected to grow at 7.7 per cent per annum till 2013-14 with minor ports growing at a faster rate of 8.5 per cent compared to 7.4 per cent for the major ports.
Port traffic is estimated to reach 960 million tonnes by 2013-14.
{{/usCountry}}Port traffic is estimated to reach 960 million tonnes by 2013-14.
{{/usCountry}}Containerised cargo is expected to grow at 17.3 per cent over the next 9 years.
The New Foreign Trade Policy envisages doubling of India’s share in global exports in the next five years to $150 billion.
A large portion of foreign trade to be through the maritime route: 95 per cent by volume and 70 per cent by value.
Airports: Major investments planned in new airports and upgradation of existing airports.
Passenger traffic is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 15 per cent in the next 5 years. It is expected to cross 100 million passengers per annum by 2010.
Cargo traffic to grow at over 20 per cent per annum over the next five years. It is expected to cross 3.3 million tonnes by 2010.
Petroleum and Natural gas: A rapidly growing vehicle population and better road infrastructure will drive consumption of petroleum products. The industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of about 8 per cent to 10 per cent.
The sector requires over 190 MMT of refining capacity by 2010.
The Natural Gas sector is expected to have an additional demand of over 120MMSCMD in the next five years.
There have been recent gas finds and gas is increasingly used for power generation, petrochemicals, fertilisers and city gas distribution.
Clearly, the infrastructure sector in India offers colossal potential. It is estimated that the Indian infrastructure sector has the potential to absorb
$150 billion of foreign direct investment over the next five years.
(Courtesy: ibef.org)