Lt Gen Harpal Singh & Awanish Awasthi bag top honours at 20th CW Awards
An evening extravaganza, CONSTRUCTION WORLD Global Awards, in its 20th Edition, concluded in great success in Mumbai on October 14th at ITC Grand Central, Parel. A house-full audience, more than 50 awards announced, a high-power VIP networking session among industry stalwarts from the construction, building materials and equipment sector – and the awards once again held high its repute of being the Oscars of the construction industry.
Lt Gen Harpal Singh, Engineer-in-Chief, Indian Armed Forces, was honoured with and is the first recipient of the “Construction World Engineer of the Year” award at the 20th CONSTRUCTION WORLD GLOBAL AWARDS (CWGA) 2022 function held on October 14, 2022 at ITC Grand Central in Mumbai. In addition, the CWGA 2022 – hosted by CONSTRUCTION WORLD and FIRST Construction Council to recognise India’s top companies and leaders in the construction sector – presented awards to over 50 firms such as L&T, PNC, APCO, HG Infra, DRAIPL, KNR, J Kumar, PSP, Welspun, and more.
Along with the Engineer of the Year, new entrants to the categories of winners included Most Admired Brands, Engineer of the Year, Construction Project of the Year, International Project of the year; Innovation in Retailing; Innovation in Construction Technique; Emerging Construction Equipment of the year; Product of the year; Project Manager of the year; Woman in Construction of the year; and CSR Company of the Year.
Another highlight of the vibrant evening was the unveiling of the CONSTRUCTION WORLD 26th Anniversary Edition. Building on the theme of ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance), this edition contains perspectives and action plans of various industry leaders to implement ESG going forward.
Receiving the award, Lt Gen Harpal Singh, Engineer-in-Chief, Indian Armed Forces, emphasised on the need to incorporate new technologies and sustainability into engineering and construction. Lt Gen Singh, an alumnus of National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla, was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers on December 24, 1982. He added, “The present-day developments require revisiting the basics of civil engineering and amalgamating them with the latest trends. We also need to analyse whether our infrastructure design and construction technology caters to a low carbon footprint. The government, in the last few years, has given the top most priority to sustainable infrastructure and has made a noteworthy transition towards it.”
While Awanish Awasthi, Advisor to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, bagged the CW Person of the Year 2022 (Public Sector), S V Desai, Director & Sr VP (Civil Infrastructure), L&T, received CW Person of the Year 2022 (Private Sector) award.
In his acceptance speech, Awanish Awasthi highlighted the opportunities that Uttar Pradesh presents to the development of the country. “We, in Uttar Pradesh, have seen a dream and a vision of potential far beyond today. The Chief Minister has emphasised on being the best in law and order and create a conducive environment for the growth of infrastructure. Uttar Pradesh stands second in the ranking for business environment. That’s why, we have seen investments pouring in. The state is aiming to grow to a Rs 1 trillion economy. And infrastructure plays a key role, be it metros, high-speed metros, roads, highways, expressways, irrigation, sports infrastructure and more.”
Setting the tone…
In his welcome note, Tanveer Padode, Business Head-Digital, ASAPP Info Global Group, highlighted that, “In 2003, we began the awards process when the turnover of the industry was barely Rs 16,000 crore,” as he shared his perspective on the award functions and companies highlighted as a result.Elaborating on the current industry scenario was Pratap Padode, Founder & President, FIRST Construction Council. He urged, “The infrastructure construction industry with a Rs 3 trillion market cap deserves to be protected and not thrown into insolvency. QCBS system instead of L1, Land Lease Model instead of Land Acquisition and an Investment Allowance on purchase of construction equipment and technology would help grow this industry to help India claim its spot as the third fastest growing construction market in the world.”
The event was graced by the Guest of Honour, Dr Brijesh Dixit, Managing Director, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation, who has also been the winner of the CONSTRUCTION WORLD Person of the Year for 2020. “I am amazed at the platform that CONSTRUCTION WORLD provides and despite having been in the industry for over 30 years, I am discovering several companies here, which have done remarkable work. The use of technology has not just helped in cutting down the time and overheads, it has also enhanced the work quality. We have used technology extensively in our construction projects and am happy that it is now the norm of this industry,” he stated.
Commenting on the event, Rajiv Poddar, Joint Managing Director, Balkrishna Industries (BKT), stated: “Every year, BKT brings from 80 to 90 new products or new tire sizes to global markets thanks to extensive R&D, product design, and product development activities. Our teams are continuously working towards developing new solutions to meet the needs and requirements of professionals in the construction and mining industries, further augmenting our tires as per customers’ requirements.”
Adding to the jubilee in the room was also the celebration of the ‘20th year’ of the CW Global Awards: a unique milestone celebrating the contribution of the industry. Part of the 8th India Construction Festival and organised by the FIRST Construction Council, the CW Global Awards honoured companies from the universe of construction, contracting, engineering and building materials, for their outstanding work.
The process
The jury members included: Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Director, CRISIL Infra Advisory; SP Rajan, Head-Plant & Machinery Road Runways & Elevated Corridors, L&T Construction; PV Mohan, CEO, Kirby India; Anil Nikam, Regional Director – West, Assystem STUP; Vijay Agarwal, Executive Director, Equirius Capital; Deepak Garg, Director and CEO, Sany Heavy Industry India; Suneet Maheshwari, Managing Partner and Founder, Udvik Infrastructure Advisors; and Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director, WIRTGEN India.For the new categories introduced, entries were welcomed through a nomination process, which was then put to the eminent jury for detailed assessment, based on which, the final winners were arrived at.
The 20th CONSTRUCTION WORLD Global Awards was Powered by BKT Tires; Platinum Partner: APCO Infratech; Gold Partners: Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon, and Larsen & Toubro; Silver Partners: J Kumar Infraprojects and Action Construction Equipment; Associate Partners: PNC Infratech, Komatsu India, TEREX, TATA HITACHI, AJAX Engineering, Wirtgen Group, Shyam Steel Group, KNR Constructions, livSYT, Infra.Market, Welspun Enterprises, Liugong, PSP Projects, and CASE Construction.
20th CONSTRUCTION WORLD Global Awards 2022
WINNERS
TOP CHALLENGERS 2022
MOST ADMIRED BRANDS 2022
FASTEST GROWING CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES
Largest and Most Profitable Construction Company: Larsen & ToubroFastest Growing Construction Companies - Large Category
Fastest Growing Construction Companies - Medium Category
Fastest Growing Construction Companies - Small Category
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