India’s aluminium tubes and pipes import to rise 9% YoY in 2017

India’s economic growth has slowed down, but the long-term outlook remains positive. In the quarter ended June 2017, the economy grew by only 5.7 per cent, down from 7.9 per cent in the corresponding period previous year. All four contributors to economic growth – domestic consumption, foreign consumption or exports, private investment and government spending – dropped year-on-year, reveals statistics. Despite this slowdown the country’s building and construction sector is logging a moderate growth. Driven by the demand from the B&C sector, India’s aluminium tubes and pipes import is expected to rise in 2017.

India imported a total quantity of 9483 tonnes of aluminium tubes and pipes in 2016, down from 10,924 tonnes in 2015. In 2017, the country’s aluminium tubes and pipes import is estimated to rise to 10,342 tonnes. The value of aluminium tubes and pipes import is also estimated to increase from US$45 million in 2016 to US$49 million in 2017.

What will support India’s import of construction materials over the short to medium term? - The government’s vision to build New India and projects like India Smart Cities. In line with this vision, the national building construction corporation (NBCC)—a PSU, has collaborated with many foreign companies to import 3D printing technology for speedy and sustainable construction of projects, The New Indian Express reported.

The initiative gained momentum after PM Narendra Modi in a review meeting of urban projects directed the ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to give a fillip to the construction of affordable housing in 25 major cities using 3D construction technology. With such government initiatives coming up, imports of building and construction materials and technologies are expected to increase.

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In February, the Government of India had pledged a record 3.96 trillion rupees to build and modernize infrastructure this fiscal year. In the April-June period, it spent 683 billion rupees on building assets such as roads and power plants. This was about 22 per cent of the budgeted full-year expenditure versus 20 percent for the year-ago period, Bloomberg reported based on official data.