The 11th edition of EXCON, South Asia’s largest construction equipment and construction technology trade fair, will kick start from May 17–21, 2022 at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Bengaluru. In line with the growth of the industry, EXCON - organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) - has become one of the largest global events in the sector. The key elements which will have enhanced focus in EXCON this year will be on the alignment of its theme – “Building India for a New World – Competitiveness, Growth, Sustainability, Technology”.

Banking on infra-growth
Infrastructure sector is a key driver for the Indian economy. The sector is highly responsible for propelling India’s overall development and enjoys intense focus from Government for initiating policies that would ensure time-bound creation of world class infrastructure in the country. Infrastructure sector includes power, bridges, dams, roads, and urban infrastructure development.

The Government of India is expected to invest highly in the infrastructure sector, mainly highways, renewable energy, and urban transport. The allocation of Rs 20,000 crore in the Union Budget for PM Gati Shakti, the multi-modal connectivity for the states with a focus on roads, railways, airports, ports and waterways besides expansion of 25,000 kms of national highways in 2022-23 would give a key push for infrastructure development in the country.

Against this back ground, CII will be hosting Excon 2022 to give a much-needed boost to the construction equipment industry. “EXCON is happening at a time when our economy is on the path of transition towards a ‘New India’ and there is renewed confidence among industry players on the revival of economy against the backdrop of robust policy measures and major thrust on infrastructure development by the Government of India," said Deepak Shetty, Chairman, Excon 2021 & Managing Director, JCB India Limited, during one of the pre-event press conferences. With major announcements in

This year's Union Budget has announced construction of 25,000 km additional national highways and EXCON is expected to play an important role in the adoption of world class technologies for speedy implementation of infrastructure projects in the country. Deepak Shetty added, "With sustainability and environment being the major concerns, the Government and industry are together taking measures and innovative steps to ensure a sustainable and eco-friendly development of the country’s infrastructure. EXCON sectoral sessions are planned around topics which cover these aspects in detail. The construction equipment industry can use the existing challenges as opportunities and work around them to emerge stronger."

What's new
EXCON 2022 will feature a 5-day international exhibition spread across a display area of 3,00,000 sq. mtrs. It will be attracting over 1000 exhibitors including 400 companies with country participation from China, Finland, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Turkey, UK & USA.

JCB, Vovlo, Caterpillar, BEML, Kobelco, Puzzolana, Tata Hitachi, L & T, Schwing Stetter, Sany India, Ammann India, Case New Holland, Doosan, Mahindra, Terex, Wipro, Hyundai, Hailstone, Propel Industries, Manitowoc Cranes, KYB Conmat, Ajax Engineering, Everest Engineering, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Capital, BKT, ARX Mining, MRF, Escorts, Yuken India besides OEMs, Components manufacturer, Tyres, IT & Software, Lubricants, Attachments and other allied industry organisations are participating at the event.

Indian Construction Equipment Manufactures’ Association (ICEMA) is the Sector Partner and the National Highways Authority of India and Builders Association of India are supporting Partners for Excon 2021.

EXCON will reflect on the theme elements at the exhibition with specific focus on Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative of the Government. Some of the highlights of EXCON includes exclusive focus on Alternate Fuels, Women in Infrastructure, Ai Pavilion, Finance Plaza besides sustainability, MSMEs, Digital Transformation among others.

AI Pavilion
In the construction industry, the use of technologies (AI, IoT, Big Data, ML, Deep Learning, NLP, Cloud computing, and so on) has risen dramatically to support initiatives such as smart cities, urban air mobility, and climate change programmes, as well as to generate new revenue streams, improve internal operating efficiencies and performance, identify costly mistakes, lower costs, reduce injuries, increase margins, and improve training, logistics, and customer relationship management. The increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) based solutions and platforms in the construction business is being driven by the potential of AI solutions and services.

The global AI in construction market is anticipated to reach $ 1.831 billion by 2023 and $ 3.5 billion by 2027. The global construction and engineering market is predicted to reach $10.5 trillion by 2023, with India's construction sector expected to be the world's third largest, growing at a rate of 7.1 percent per year. The industry employs 51 million people and accounts for 9% of India's GDP.

Against this backdrop, Excon 2022 will host an exceptional AI, IoT & Automation pavilion, which will showcase technology & innovation across the value chain of construction and equipment industry. Global players are expected to showcase latest smart technologies that are being used in infrastructure development across the world.

AI pavilion will help in augmenting road building capacity and building ecological sustainable infrastructure.

Experts talk
Rising investment in infrastructure activities is also propelling the growth of the construction equipment (CE) industry. Dimitrov Krishnan, Co-Chairman, EXCON & President, Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturer’s Association (ICEMA), said that the Indian CE industry, being the third largest market in the world, currently holds a prominent position in the global CE landscape. India’s ambitious Rs 111-lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) would augur well for the Indian construction equipment industry to become the second largest CE market in the world, with a size of $ 25 billion by 2030.

Karnataka - where Excon will be held - is an emerging hub for construction equipment, component outsourcing base and design base. Speaking at a pre-event press meet, Ramesh Ramadurai, Chairman, CII Karnataka & Managing Director, 3M India Ltd, said that the state presents huge business opportunities for the construction industry, as it is embarking on major infrastructure development projects in roads & flyovers, industrial infrastructure and power.

EXCON has been playing a catalytic role in showcasing innovations in the construction equipment and related industries which is supporting the infrastructure development of the country and it is a platform to connect all infrastructure stakeholders, including policymakers, investors, and developers, with the exciting growth story of India’s infrastructure. Over the last 10 editions, the event has grown into one of the topmost construction equipment exhibitions in the world.

Promising growth
The construction and infrastructure sector has seen amazing expansion in the last few years, from motorways to railways to airports and other smart-city efforts. EXCON 2022 - taking place at a time when the government is focusing heavily on the construction and infrastructure sector to implement regulations - will surely enable the timely establishment of world-class infrastructure in India.