Meinhardt to expand India operation; looks to double projects

SINGAPORE: Singapore-based Meinhardt Group International is expanding its operations in India and has set a target to double the number of its projects as the government awards more infrastructure development contracts.

"We are very bullish on India and will set up two more offices immediately in anticipation of awarding more infrastructure projects," Meinhardt Executive Chairman Shahzad Nasim told PTI.

Meinhardt will also double its operational capacity from the current two offices in Chennai and Delhi with new offices each in Mumbai and Andhra Pradesh in two to three months.

A third office will also be set up to manage projects out of Bangalore. "We are expecting to double the number of projects we are managing in India in two to three years as the country's construction activities increase rapidly," he said.

The International Engineering Group, with operations spread over more than 40 global offices, is also looking at a number of forums and conferences to present technologies to the Indian developers and project managers.

As India rolls out its massive plan for building 100 smart cities, there would be a need for a more comprehensive forward planning and use of technologies such as deep tunnels for water and waste water solutions as well as Dedicated Tunnels for Services, which are widely used in some of the globally advanced cities where all services like water, electricity, gas, sewerage are put in the tunnel, making it easier for maintenance, he pointed out.

Dedicated tunnels would be important in the future cities which will allow maintenance work to be carried out without disrupting traffic, Nasim added.