The Hindu Business Line : NAC: Concrete counsel for construction sector

THE National Academy of Construction (NAC) is a fast-growing, three-year-old institute. It has impressive infrastructure and is situated about 15 km from the Begumpet airport in Hyderabad. Its major agenda is to build capacities and bring latest technology for the construction industry in the country, especially in the Southern region.

The imposing campus also houses the permanent exhibition centre (Hitex) and eight institutions covering all sectors of the construction industry. After a rather big bang start, the NAC seems to have gone low-key in the recent past.

The Director-General of NAC, Maj Gen (Retd) C.T. Chari, says it's consolidation time now. The growth has to come from training programmes and providing consultancy in niche areas in the construction sector, which is booming. He expects to see foreign direct investments bringing in competition with emphasis on quality.

On the funds front, the NAC is facing tough times with the State Government recently revising downward contractors' contributions from 0.25 per cent of the contract value to 0.10 per cent. At 0.25 per cent, the NAC got Rs 8.5 crore a year. There are still doubts whether the large EPC contracts for the proposed irrigation projects are covered under this clause.

A positive development for the NAC is the State Government picking it as the agency for third party inspection of all the roads laid with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) funds. Similarly, it has been shortlisted in the irrigation projects also. The Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad is already utilising its consultancy services for training its engineers.

In this background, NAC has to strengthen its training programmes, which have earned it around Rs 95 lakh last fiscal. "We are working on specialised training courses in emerging areas such as highway management, facility management and realty, in addition to the traditional bread and butter courses for skilled workers, supervisors, technology of construction etc," Mr Chari told Business Line.

The State Government has mandated the NAC to run training courses for rural people with the intention of making youth skilled and employable in the construction industry. Last year, about 1,200 were trained and this year another 4,500 would be provided training.

The funds for this novel initiative come from the Velugu project of the State Government, the SC Corporation and NGOs such as the Byraju Foundation. The NAC spends Rs 8,000 per student for the entire training course. The task is quite challenging and it needs more funds, he said.

With the construction sector growing and a large number of medium and big contractors operating from Andhra Pradesh, NAC also floated an Equipment Bank concept through a consortium firm called NACEIL.

The Indian Infrastructure Equipment Ltd (IIEL), L&T Finance Ltd, and Nagarjuna Construction Co Ltd have joined NAC in the project. NAC has leased five acres of land for NACEIL to have its yard to house the equipment.

NACIEL is a Rs 10-crore equity company in which IIEL holds 50 per cent and NAC 20 per cent now.

It has been meeting the needs of small and medium contractors by leasing out equipment along with maintenance support. It has achieved break-even and hopes to make a small profit, Mr Chari said.

The other major presence at NAC is Hitex, to which NAC has given 100 acres and holds Rs 3 crore of its total Rs 15 crore equity. By next year Hitex is expected to turn into a profit- making company. Several major exhibitions have been held.

However, connectivity in terms of transport and availability of five-star hotel facilities have limited its fast growth. The coming Asian Development Bank meeting and the rapid progress in the IT infrastructure in Madhapur area, the upcoming international airport at Shamshabad are expected to make Hitex a major centre of business activity.

The NAC also has a host of institutes on its campus. These include Construction Technicians Training Institute; Contractors Development Institute; Construction Methods and Materials Research Institute; Institute of Architecture and Design; Housing Development Institute and Transport Infrastructure Training Institute.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page