Bhopal. The two-day seminar on road and bridge construction, organized with the aim of better understanding the challenges in road construction, new technologies and the impact of EPC contracts, concluded on Sunday. Various technical sessions were organized on the second day before the closing. In this, new construction technologies and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts were discussed in depth.
The session began with the speech of Shri S.K. Nirmal, General Secretary of Indian Road Congress (IRC). In this, he gave a detailed introduction to EPC contracts. He explained how EPC contracts ensure discipline and deadlines in the road construction sector. Along with this, Shri S.K. Singh, Regional Officer, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Bhopal, discussed the role of the customer in EPC contracts and the preparation of the schedule. It was told how it is necessary to follow the deadlines in the contracts and pre-planning is important for this.
In the afternoon session, the role of the 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, Shri I.K. 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 point of view of contractors and their experiences.
A panel discussion on new technologies in construction sector was also organised on the occasion. The discussion was attended by experts like Shri S.K. Nirmal, Secretary General, IRC, Shri R.K. Mehra, Engineer-in-Chief, Madhya Pradesh PWD, Shri S.K. Singh, Regional Officer, NHAI, Bhopal, Professor M.A. Reddy, IIT Kharagpur and Dr. Abhishek Mittal, CSIR-CRRI, New Delhi. The panel discussed in detail the development of new technologies in construction, their prospects and challenges associated with them. The panel specifically discussed how the quality and speed of construction work 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. Experts described this seminar as a new direction in the construction sector and emphasized the need to organize such programs 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 increase efficiency.
