L to R: Dimitrov Krishnan, Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan, and NMP Jeyesh at a press conference of the event

Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, government of India inaugurated CII EXCON – South Asia’s’ Largest Construction Equipment Trade Fair on 12 December 2023 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bengaluru. 

The Government of Karnataka is the Host State for EXCON 2023. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, The Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are supporting partners to the event.  The Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers' Association (ICEMA) is the sector partner.  

While addressing the media in the city, Dimitrov Krishnan, Co-Chairman, CII EXCON 2023 said, “We are excited to present the 12th Edition of EXCON, with the theme, “Building India’s Tomorrow” encompassing the fundamental pillars of Technology, Globalisation, Sustainability, and Inclusiveness.   EXCON is more than just an event; it serves as the driving force behind India's continuous progress, symbolizing our robust infrastructure development and solidifying India's prominent position as a global hub for construction equipment manufacturing, he added.  EXCON is celebrated as the Construction Equipment Festival of India, he further added.

The Construction Equipment industry made a remarkable resurgence in the fiscal year 2022-23, achieving an impressive 26% growth. This outstanding performance propelled total sales to surpass the one lakh milestone, firmly establishing India as the world's third-largest CE market.

“Moreover, the Construction Equipment industry is positioning itself for remarkable growth, targeting over 15% year-on-year increase in the next five years. This ambitious goal underscores their commitment to providing the cutting-edge machinery and equipment needed to support the industry's transformation, ensuring that construction projects across the nation are not only innovative but also executed with enhanced efficiency, and precision with a focus on sustainability”, he further added.

Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan, Chairman, CII Karnataka said, “Karnataka is emerging as a vibrant manufacturing hub in the country. To increase the GSDP, the Karnataka Government is introducing new initiatives to bolster the manufacturing sector and increase the share of exports from Karnataka. EXCON will demonstrate the manufacturing potential of the State with the large presence of OEMs and components industries participating in EXCON.

Concurrent to EXCON, CII is organising series of Conferences spanning over 5 days, which includes Conference on Atmanirbhar Bharat (CE Manufacturing); Conference on Women in Infrastructure; CEOs Roundtable Session; Seminar on ‘Components’;  Italy Meets India – Session on CE Industry; Session on Academia; Conference by BAI and Session on Components.

As a new initiative this year, EXCON have an exclusive Finance Plaza with the participation of leading financial institution making it a one stop shop for all financing needs of customers visiting EXCON.

A Special Initiative this year, CII launches the “Women Building India” - Equal Opportunity Awards. The award aims to recognise companies from the infrastructure sector who have taken proactive steps to enable women to participate in the workforce.

Another important focus at EXCON is the showcase of green and Innovative technologies through an exclusive Pavilion Sustainable Power Solutions.  The pavilion features cutting-edge technologies, ranging from electric, hybrid and alternate fuels powered machinery to state-of-the-art equipment specifically designed to curtail emissions and bolster energy efficiency. 

The Pavilion on AI, IoT & Automation focuses on next gen technology, smart Automation, Technology and Innovation

Key dignitaries participated at EXCON includes; Nitin  Gadkari, Minister of road Transport & Highways, Government of India; Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister for Heavy Industries, Government of India; D K Shivakumar, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka; Sanjeet Singh,  Senior Advisor, Niti Aayog; Lieutenant General Raghu Srinivasan, Director General, Border Roads Organisation; Lieutenant General Arvind Walia; Engineer in Chief, India Army; Azim Premji, Founder Chairman, Wipro; Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII; Vivekanand Vanmeeganathan, President, ICEMA , among others.

EXCON is spreaded over 32,00,000 square feet of display area and will have a participation of over 1000 exhibitors including 100 from overseas. Overseas countries participating includes; Austria, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States of America.  Besides this, there will be 5 Country Pavilions from France, Germany, Italy, Turkey and UK. The 5-day exhibition attracts over 80,000 business visitors from all over the world.

Infrastructure Equipment Skill Council (IESC) and the Builders Association of India (BAI) are supporting partners for EXCON 2023