REGIONAL REPORT DFI of India Dr. K.S. Rama Krishna DFI India Chair [email protected] In this issue, I would like to refer to some encouraging statements by several important people on the world stage about the state of India’s economy. In early April, the Japanese prime minister acknowledged that under its present leadership, the Indian economy was now serving as the engine of globa l growth. Multilateral organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank refer to India as the “bright spot” in the global economy. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) reports that India has jumped three levels to be ranked sixth among the world’s top 10 manufacturing companies after China, the U.S., Japan, Germany and Korea. The chief economist of the World Bank, Kaushik Basu, in his interview to Economic Times stated that the Indian economy is doing very well, that India is the fastest growing major economy in the world, and that it is at the top on the growth table of performance among major economies. Significance of Our Industry One may wonder what significance this has for us in the deep foundations industry. As a foundation engineer with around four decades of experience in India and abroad, I would emphatically say that it is relevant. At this stage, we can recall the message from Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (1860-1962), a brilliant Indian engineer, scholar and statesman, honoured with the highest Indian national award, the Bharat Ratna: “Engineers must make it a custom to discuss national affairs in relation to their profession.” India’s economic growth would undoubtedly meet with serious road blocks in project implementation unless certain factors in the foundation industry are addressed: its nascent stage, lack of organization, and lack of access to the latest technologies for some specialty contractors and small players. We from the deep foundations industry should take the responsibility for bringing these factors to the attention of all stakeholders and finding appropriate solutions. When we talk as a percentage of value, in monetary terms, of a total infrastructure project, foundations may look like a cog in the wheel. Because of this, many owners and companies involved in project implementation do not pay attention to soil investigation and foundations. This seemingly insignificant part of a project suddenly catches the attention of corporate heads when there is a significant delay in the implementation of a project due to a holdup in the construction of foundations. An article in an Indian newspaper highlights this important aspect about foundation execution. A steel manufacturing company in India announced that there was over a year delay and a cost escalation of around INR 2000 Crores (USD $300M) in a 3 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) expansion project due to delays in the installation of bored cast-in-place piles. Such ill- fated projects are many, and it is very unfortunate to observe that so little importance is given to the various aspects of geotechnical engineering including soil investigation, foundation design, selection of an appropriate foundation solution, suitable technology, checking the competence and experience of foundation consultants and specialty foundation contractors, etc. These seemingly small errors at the planning stage have a huge adverse impact on the overall cost and time of completion of a project. Here lies a great opportunity! I appeal to the geotechnical consultant firms, specialty foundation contractors, equipment manufacturers, technology providers, special material manufacturers, testing agencies, etc., from all over the world to look at the Indian deep foundations industry as a long-term and far- reaching opportunity, and to explore prospects to set up local offices and/or joint ventures with local firms. Please use the DFI of India platform to effectively reach out to all the stakeholders of the Indian deep foundations industry by becoming corporate members and also by actively participating in many of our initiatives such as seminars, regional workshops, annual conferences, technology implementation exercises and skill development programs. All of these are aimed at disseminating information on the latest foundation technologies, design, construction and testing practices. Professor Rama Rao at the workshop in Guntur Andhra Pradesh Seminar DFI of India recently conducted a one-day national workshop on “Deep Foundation Technologies for Infrastructure Development of Andhra Pradesh” at Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU), Guntur. Twin cities, Vijayawada and Guntur, form part of the new capital region, Amaravati, of the recently created state of Andhra Pradesh. The government of Andhra Pradesh has developed a master plan to make Amaravati a world-class city. It is expected that this region will be a hub of civil engineering activity for at least the next 50 years. Projects including highways, roads, high-rise buildings, overpasses, metros, bridges across Krishna River and its many canals, and riverside development are planned. DFI of India felt it appropriate and timely to conduct the workshop in this region. The event was conducted in association with the Indian Geotechnical Society (IGS) Guntur Chapter and the Department of DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAY/JUNE 2016 • 71
