As growth stagnated around the world in the latter part of this decade, India was often the country bucking the trend. With projected growth of 8% per year from 2016, the belief was that India would go from strength to strength, improving exponentially as its competitors hit the wall. Yet growth has slowed in the past two years, and currently rests at 6.8%. While this is by no means bad – the United States is considered to be doing well with 3.1% – it reflects a slight stagnation that ought to be addressed. The best candidate for what’s holding India back is infrastructure, and the myriad different ways in which it affects Indian society. The question is this: how much is being invested in infrastructure at the moment, and how much more money is needed? Investing in infrastructure The need to improve Indian infrastructure has not gone unnoticed, nor has it been unheralded. Infrastructure investment has been a pillar of Narendra Modi’s government, a policy most evident in the creation of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund in 2015. India’s first Sovereign Wealth Fund now manages almost ₹28,000 crore ($4 billion), which is continually reinvested in new green and brownfield infrastructure projects. However, the government’s substantial commitment to infrastructure investment is still not enough to satisfy demand. At present, the government invests between $100 million and $110 million annually; yet a recent economic survey by the Indian Parliament concluded that $200 million a year was required if India was going to hit its growth targets. This leaves an almost $100 million annual shortfall – one which can only be made up by the private sector. The problem with this is that India has not always been an attractive destination for private investment, both foreign and domestic. Past problems, such as the legal challenges to the 2016 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, have led many to believe that investing in India represents a substantial risk. With infrastructure investments, you also have the issue that investment is needed across the country – not just in the large cities that are attractive to investors. Foreign funding Manufacturing has provided much of India’s recent growth, and currently accounts for 16% of national GDP. Yet the government has set a goal of 25% of GDP through manufacturing, and growth has hit a brick wall. By building and improving transport links and strengthening the power grid, it’s hoped that people and goods can be transported more quickly, and that electricity shortages will be a thing of the past. This would allow factories to be built further out from major population centres, improving growth and boosting local economies. Another significant benefit of infrastructure investment is improving people’s quality of life. India’s population growth and internal migration have left many cities overcrowded, placing a strain on public transport and contributing to severe air pollution. This not only decreases productivity, but can also damage people’s health in the long term, placing an additional strain on healthcare providers. By expanding public transport through new metro lines and better bus networks, congestion can be reduced, saving people time and improving the quality of the air. Counter-intuitively, sourcing greater foreign investment for infrastructure could also make India more self-sufficient. At present, the large quantity of diesel train stock around the country means that India imports huge amounts of diesel oil to fuel them. By electrifying all broad-gauge routes around the country – a target for 2022 – India can not only avoid any geopolitical difficulties with oil, but could also reduce its energy consumption by as much as ₹13,000 crore per annum. Passengers will also benefit from newer train stock, with benefits to safety and speed of travel. Renovating railways also allows for new optical fibre cables to be laid, which can distribute high speed internet through the heart of the country. This will link stations together, allowing for up-to-date tracking of train delays, which could provide millions in efficiency savings. More broadly however, it could also deliver faster internet to the masses – providing all sorts of benefits to individuals and businesses around India. This is important to mobile internet too, as the next generation (5G) uses many smaller connected antennae instead of large towers. By installing high-speed cables, 5G can be rolled out more quickly, opening India up to technologies like driverless cars. Safety standards While the primary aim of attracting foreign investment is the money it offers, there are also some less heralded benefits. By working with international companies, the national and state governments can share expertise, and become more familiar with international standards and techniques. Our recent installation of Durasteel fire protection barriers in the Kolkata Metro Line 2 is one such example; by working closely with the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation, we were able to share our knowledge of working on other metro projects in Europe and the Middle East, and produce a solution that helped to make passengers and staff even safer. Safety is an underappreciated but paramount concern when it comes to attracting investment. At present, Indian infrastructure suffers from a negative image abroad, where many people think of passengers clinging to unsafe trains, and city streets choked with traffic. By reaching out and working with foreign companies to install advanced safety equipment – some of which may exceed required standards – India can start to project a different, more safety-conscious image. This in turn will help to expedite the funding for infrastructure projects, as people will have more confidence in the commitment to producing effective infrastructure with positive outcomes. Fundamentally, foreign investment also attracts more foreign investment. Seeing other companies and funds investing in India will further increase confidence, and the results of this investment can have a snowball effect. By improving things like transport links and the power grid, you are improving the arteries that carry people and products around the country. With these links, more foreign businesses will be open to investing in the country, both through infrastructure and the opening of

ISG has created a new managing director role for Europe as it looks to meet demand across the continent. Industry professional Aydin Karaduman has been named as the company’s new leader for Europe. Aydin, a former CEO of DIC Asset AG and Bilfinger Real Estate, will take direct responsibility for ISG’s businesses in Germany, France, Spain, Luxembourg and Switzerland. This appointment further strengthens ISG’s global leadership team and demonstrates the contractor’s ambitions to grow its European business across its core office, retail and datacentre sectors. Aydin Karaduman commented: “Watching developments at the ISG business since privatisation in 2016, it’s been clear to me that this is a radical and transformative organisation that has global appeal and a leadership team that supports and nurtures innovation. ISG has big ideas and significantly invests in its people to positively affect that structural change that our industry needs to deliver better for customers. “It’s this ambition and commitment that permeates throughout the global business that first attracted me to join ISG, and I see major opportunities for our European operations as we move forward into what will undoubtedly be a highly dynamic built environment market over the short to medium term.” Matt Blowers, chief operating officer for Fit Out, added: “Attracting leaders of Aydin’s calibre is a real testament to the overall market perception and future growth prospects of the ISG business across Europe. We are breaking new ground in how we operate across the continent, introducing new procurement approaches, technology and enhanced transparency – with a different way of doing business, based on trust, relationships and collaboration.  “Based out of our Frankfurt office, Aydin will spearhead our European operations, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to this pivotal role, supporting both our growing global and domestic customer base to create spaces that help businesses and individuals thrive. He has an exceptionally talented team across Europe, and I’m looking forward to working closely with Aydin as he builds upon our international reputation for excellence.”

According to the 2019 Vitality Index by Lambert Smith Hampton, Edinburgh is the city with the best prospects for UK economic growth, with Cambridge and Manchester coming in second and third place, despite the UK’s uncertain economic and political environment. Compiled every year, The Vitality Index provides a comprehensive assessment of the health of UK towns and cities, considering education, entrepreneurialism, affluence, productivity, growth and environmental factors. By identifying the best destinations to support future economic growth and provide opportunities for business expansion, the top ten rankings for 2019 are as follows: Edinburgh Cambridge Manchester Brighton & Hove Oxford Bristol Reading Guildford Cardiff Colchester Climbing from 2018 position number five, Edinburgh has risen to the top of the ranking, knocking Cambridge off the top spot for the first time since 2016. The city has seen one of the highest rates of house price growth of any location, alongside strong wage growth. The only Scottish location in the top 10, Edinburgh has a highly qualified population and is forecast to see one of the strongest rates of job growth over the next five years. Followed by Cambridge at second place, the city has retained its first place as the most highly educated, being home to the UK’s top-ranked university and one of the highest proportions of residents qualified to a degree level or above. Manchester remains in position number three and is the sole Northern location to rank within the top ten, seeing strong growth in both population and commercial property rents. As one of the fastest-growing locations, the city has shown a robust GVA growth in the UK as well being one of the most entrepreneurial cities of the year. The South East region currently dominate with four locations featuring in the top ten. Brighton comes in fourth place, holding the top spot for growth in commercial property rents. While Oxford and Guildford both fell slightly in the ranking from last year, they remain in the top 10 with Oxford showing the fastest rate of workforce job growth forecast over the next five years. Elsewhere, Reading takes seventh position, having seen a substantial improvement in wage growth. Although still dominated by the South East of England, the Welsh capital Cardiff feature in the top ten for the first time, at position number nine, due to increasing house prices and strong job growth. The city has been forecasted to see job growth of 6% over the next five years, the strongest of all the locations. Colchester also featured in the Index’s top ten for the first time, due to its rates of job growth and the city’s ambitious growth plans, which include a £3bn transformation project. The Essex town is forecast to see one of the fastest rates of job growth over the next five years and has recently witnessed sizeable increase in commercial property rents.

The world’s very first fully functional, and permanently occupied, 3D printed building has been completed in Dubai. Set to open its doors in 2020, the new build, which is going to be a museum titled: The Museum of the Future, is one of the most advanced buildings on the planet. Located near the high-profile Emirates Towers, Sheikh Zayed Road, the building is already being defined as an architectural masterpiece. Enhancing the urban landscape of Dubai, the museum is designed to be a popular destination for tourists, residents and fellow architects/building enthusiasts, to learn about the future now. Offering a space that will teach its visitors about the realities of what we can expect from upcoming technologies means people can glance into the future. It will become the must-be destination for experts, innovators, scientists, engineerings, and creatives from all corners of the globe, who aim to shape and design the future. Currently, the building is the temporary housing for the Dubai Future Foundation, alongside an exhibition space and incubator for emerging technologies. The building itself has been manufactured through an additive concrete printing technique, using a 6 meter high, 36.5 meters long and 12 meters wide, 3D Printer. Cladding was created through insulated panels that were custom cut to form the complex geometry of the facade. Various senses and probes on the building provide continuous feedback on its structural performance that can offer designers valuable information in relation to the future of 3D printing, and how can this can work for high rise builds. Already, Dubai is an established hub for innovation and the new design stands to further encourage future thinking within the city. The museum will support the development of long terms solutions to the challenges and requirements of the future on a local, regional and international scale. Given the advances in prefabrication, materials and robotics that are coming to the attention of the world, it is not difficult to imagine how this one-storey build, could be reproduced at much greater heights in the near future. Transforming the aesthetics and workings of cities across the planet.