In the era of this economic slowdown, unemployment, and national lockdown, when the whole world is continually working day and night for saving their citizens from the wrath of pandemic COVID-19, we, civil engineers and contractors, do have some pertinent questions running in our minds, i.e., how will be the construction industry post-covid-19.
All these questions will be answered in this article. But for that read till the end.
History repeats itself. Ironically it’s not a myth. When World War 2 was fought some decades before, hundreds of cities were ravaged. The ruthless wrath of vengeance was observed specifically at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the nuclear bombs destroyed, not only the present but also the past and future of that Country, Japan. We still observe the reverberation of the echoing of nuclear evil there.
The answer is absolute, “No.”
The construction has been revamped even more holistically. Just look at today’s scenario. History is again repeating itself. A virtual war between humans and Corona Virus has come into action. This is not a weaponry war but a virtual war. Its wrath can not only be seen in some nations but on the whole earth.
building has remained a basic requirement for human beings from the ancient age. If, after nuclear destruction, building had started, then why not, after this pandemic war. Have patience, and don’t worry, is what we suggest to our community of Civil Engineers. But due to National Lockdown, it has been checked but only for some time.
The first and foremost thing which we are going to face is “INFLATION.” Yes, building will get costly. As per the guidelines of health organizations, masks and sanitization will be made mandatory even after the removal of lockdown. The insurance of masons and other masonry workers will also be a thoughtful issue in the future.
Also, the Scarcity of Labourers will be an issue for Contractors in the future for some time due to migration of laborers to their hometown. So, Contractors have to look after these indispensable aspects for future endeavors in construction. Resultantly, construction will get expensive.
The path-breaking mantra for future building is Design-Manufacture-Assemble.
We all have to focus on Precast Construction in the future to overcome the adverse effects of lockdown in the coming decades. Briefly say then try to manufacture the construction in the factory in respective time. Yes, you all guessed it right.
on the other hand, in that procedure, laborers precast the key members of the framework inside the industries. We have a lot of Ready Mix plants and Construction industries in our cities.
The projects are in gamut, which stranded in mid-construction due to sudden announcement of national lockdown. With this, we can spend our time in a very constructive way. In some green zone where a few factories have been working even today under some guidelines, if we start doing precast, some indispensable structural members like beams, columns, slabs, etc., we will surely save time for stranded big projects in future.
Can we have a virus-free building in the future? The answer to this is partial “NO.”
Today, we do not have any such kind of technology. However, some budding engineers and full-time researchers have been in up to this and certainly will come up with new technology in the future. We do have some anti-bacterial paints which make the air inside our home purer than outside.
In today’s scenario of a pandemic, some government and non-government organizations have figured out DISINFECTANT TUNNEL, where sanitized raindrops keep sprinkling perpetually. But it needs good maintenance and is also not very cost-efficient.
They even don’t need to visit their offices. Contractors and Civil engineers must be at ease because, even in lockdown, account audits of building undertakings are being registered digitally. Design engineers and architects have been indulged in CAD, REVIT, and STAD-PRO like software and trying to figure out more cost-efficient and innovative designs.
Amid this, some do have the misconception that we will soon encounter unemployment. Some students think that the Government will not offer any job for a particular tenure in the future.
Do not worry at all. These misconceptions are misconceptions. Indian economy is considered a five trillion dollar economy and the fastest growing economy in the world. Money has been reserved for crucial times. We should ponder that we all are at our home for two months.
In these months of lockdown, the consumption of petrol and diesel has faced decrement drastically. It’s blatant to say that this money can be simply infused into future construction and jobs. Resultantly Government did not buy crude oil from other foreign countries.
Do we know what the current vaccine is, which we all are consuming daily to fight Corona?
You all will think what this stupid nonsense is. We do not have any vaccine yet. But we all are consuming the magnanimity and aura of home to counter Corona. Our home is our lethal weapon to strike Corona. But a well-planned home is far better than a simply constructed home.
But rather than looking at this at the micro-level, assume it at a macro level. Dharavi, the biggest slum of Asia, where the population of 1.6 million is residing, is not a well-planned area. Compare the Mumbai Dharavi area with other well-planned areas of Mumbai.
Here Corona cases are far more than planned areas. Then it means town planning plays a substantial role in defeating pandemics.
If we are looking to save the future after lockdown, then the time has come that we must pull our socks up and start looking for better planning in the future, not only for the urban area but also for slums.