Participants in India's infrastructure construction sector are hopeful of market growth in the coming year and in 2014, as economic conditions recover and the government steps up efforts to remove bottlenecks that have deferred or delayed projects.Last October, the government announced it would set up a National Investment Board, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to fast-track execution of approved projects by obtaining all regulatory clearances. The Ministry of Railways is expediting its construction decision-making process, creating a separate holding company to free up resources and changing its concession cost-sharing model on projects.The ministry now will share 95% of net

Even as the world economy shows strains, India’s construction equipment industry is looking at signs of revival in its roadbuilding segment. As an indication that foreign investment is returning to the subcontinent, Swiss buildings equipment company, Ammann Group is planning to acquire a 70% share in Gujarat Apollo Industries Ltd., a leading Indian manufacturer of road construction equipment and materials plants.Ammann Group will invest $51 million in Apollo's core business of asphalt mixing plants, road pavers, bitumen sprayers and compaction machines. The transaction will create a new company, Ammann Apollo India Private Ltd., responsible for the sale of the Ammann

ConstructionWorld.in India has planned thousands of kilometers of new highway projects, yet only a fraction of them have been completed. Related Links: Inside Gurgaon, Indias Bustling Commercial Hub Will India's Cheap Labor Last Forever? In India, Small Backhoes Mean Big Business India's construction market in 2012 swallowed a bitter cocktail of policy paralysis, tight liquidity, rising inflation and increased activism, bringing double-digit economic growth in 2010 to an estimated rate of less than 6% this fiscal year. For many firms, this feels like a recession. The present economic crunch and inflationary pressures are adversely affecting workloads in the infrastructure sector.

Photo by Tudor Van Hampton for ENR Tower cranes pose a major challenge on construction sites in emerging markets. Here, tower cranes work in the commercial district of Gurgaon, New Delhi. Related Links: Details Emerge on First Industry Standard for Lift Planning Were Dallas Crane Bolts Loosened Too Early? India’s economic boom, which has led to hectic construction of roads, bridges, metro rail and tall buildings, is also witnessing an increase in crane accidents. On average, two accidents involving lifting equipment occur daily in the country, reports The Times of India.The problem areas are in maintenance, inspection and operations. Companies

Predicting energy demand to grow 9% annually, the United Arab Emirates announced last month that it has started construction on the country's first nuclear powerplant after receiving design and building approval for the first of four planned units.

India’s power sector demonstrated a grave need for investment when the northern grid that supports a significant portion of the country’s population collapsed on July 30, tripping other shutdowns in the region.

Hydropower, which accounts for 33,320.80 MW of India’s total installed power capacity of 200,000 MW, still has undeveloped potential for an estimated 36 GW, says India's Central Electricity Authority, a statutory body under the Ministry of Power.

Vietnam's first wind farm was recently completed, and plans are in the works to add additional capacity.

Reliance Industries Ltd., India's largest private sector company with annual revenues in excess of $66 billion, has begun construction of a $12-billion coke gasification plant.

Concerns are growing in India over the environmental and seismic risks of building huge dams in the country's northeast region.