The two-day seminar on road and bridge construction, organized with the aim of better understanding the challenges, new technologies and the impact of EPC contracts in road construction, concluded on Sunday.
Various technical sessions were organized on the second day before the conclusion. In this, new construction techniques and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts were discussed in depth.
The session began with the statement of Shri SK Nirmal, General Secretary, Indian Road Congress (IRC).
In this, he gave a detailed introduction to EPC contracts.
He explained how EPC contracts ensure discipline and timelines in the road construction sector.
Along with this, SK Singh, Regional Officer, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Bhopal discussed the role of the customer in EPC contracts and preparation of schedule. It was explained how deadlines in contracts need to be adhered to and for this, prior planning is important.
In the afternoon session, the role of Approving Engineer (AE) in EPC contracts was discussed. The session was chaired by Dr. Mahesh Kumar, former Chairman of IRC and former Engineer-in-Chief, Haryana PWD. Along with him, IK Pandey, former Director General, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) also participated in the session. Shri Pandey shared his views on disputes and challenges arising in EPC contracts.
The session also presented the problems faced in contracts from the contractors’ point of view and their experiences.
On this occasion, a panel discussion on new technologies in the construction sector was also organised. Experts like SK Nirmal, Secretary General, IRC, RK Mehra, Engineer-in-Chief, Madhya Pradesh PWD, SK Singh, Regional Officer, NHAI, Bhopal, Professor MA Reddy of IIT Kharagpur and Dr. Abhishek Mittal of CSIR-CRRI, New Delhi participated in the discussion.
The panel discussed in detail the development of new technologies in construction, their possibilities and the challenges associated with them. The panel specifically discussed how the quality and speed of construction works can be improved by using these technologies.
The sessions were followed by a Q&A session in which the participants discussed in detail the various challenges faced in the road construction process and their solutions.
In the closing ceremony of the seminar, all the participants understood the importance of using EPC contracts and new technologies.
The experts described this seminar as a new direction in the construction sector and emphasized the need to organize such programmes in future as well.
This seminar proved to be extremely useful for experts, engineers and contractors associated with the construction sector, in which they shared their knowledge and experiences.
The in-depth discussions on EPC contracts and new technologies have provided new opportunities to improve the construction process and boost efficiency
