| AN INTERVIEW WITH A LEADING INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDER
Active in airports, roads, and power, India’s GMR, led by founder and chairman G. M. Rao, is right in the middle of the country’s efforts to build up a weak infrastructure. While Rao expects the economy to remain vibrant, he worries that it can’t be developed fast enough to support current economic-growth rates. The chairman, whose roots are in the countryside, is also concerned that not enough has been done to strengthen the rural economy, which above all needs education, roads, and jobs to give villagers a chance to participate in the newfound prosperity.
GMR began almost 30 years ago as a single jute mill in the village of Rajam, in the eastern state of Andhra Pradesh. “Our journey to today’s GMR happened just accidentally,” Rao says. “Whatever opportunity came up, we have taken that opportunity.” Along the way, GMR has been active in banking, insurance, and breweries but left these industries to consolidate around infrastructure.
Along with minority partner Fraport, which manages the Frankfurt airport, in Germany, GMR is leading the effort to modernize Delhi’s international airport. It is also building a new international airport in Hyderabad and expanding the Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, in Istanbul. In addition, it owns three power plants, with projects under way for several others, and has completed 270 miles of highways.
Meeting in the GMR headquarters, in Bangalore, GMR’s chief G M Rao and HNN’s chief M H Ahssan, discussed India’s economic prospects, GMR’s experience with public-private partnerships, and Rao’s passion for best-practice management of family businesses.
Can India sustain its recent economic-growth rates?
In India the whole system is set up for 5 to 6 percent annual GDP growth. The sudden growth of more than 9 percent has surprised everyone, and sustainability is a very big question now. I have doubts that we can sustain this type of growth if two areas, the rural economy and infrastructure, aren’t taken up more seriously.
Ours is an agrarian country, and a lot of things have to happen in the rural areas. In villages there is not much connectivity, proper infrastructure, or educational facilities. Not even a scooter or a motorcycle can go on some of the roads; forget the tractor or the jeep. There is not an adequate supply of qualified teachers, and the infrastructure is not there. Many schools teach in local languages, and that’s not enough to move upward. Rural people need English schools and vocational schools, and we have to start moving aggressively with public-private partnerships. People in the rural areas are therefore moving to the cities, which are already very crowded. Education is very, very poor. The government must do better at addressing the rural economy.
Growth will also be difficult to maintain without large improvements in infrastructure. The government is putting a lot of focus on that, but there are still a lot of challenges. For instance, getting skilled labor is a very big problem now for infrastructure projects. Because of this, most of the projects are being delayed. We should look at something like Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority Academy, which was set up by the government to ensure that there’s a continuous supply of skilled labor for all the projects. At GMR, we’re also thinking about setting up our own training center, with courses of 90 days or six months.
Has the government been effective in addressing these problems?
The government has initiated several positive changes, and private players are also more and more interested in participating in infrastructure development. However, we need increased momentum to maintain these high growth rates. For example, the demand for housing, cold storage, and power outstrips supply—even considering planned capacity additions.
There are also problems with disbursing funds and implementing these improvement projects. The government is spending a lot of money to improve roads, but, ultimately, a lot of that is not reaching the people, and this has been happening for the past 60 years. Unless you change this, that allocated money is not going to do much good.
Implementation is also a problem. The government is not organized for this kind of growth or for speedy implementation of projects. It has to strengthen the whole system. For example, the National Highways Authority of India has one system for the whole country, but it should be regionalized into four sectors: south, north, east, and west. They could each call for their own tenders and monitor their own projects, while reporting to Delhi. Under the current system, we have so far only completed about 10 percent of the planned national road improvements—for instance, widening roadways from two lanes to four.
What can the government do to improve the rural economy?
The government should encourage manufacturers to set up their factories in the vill ... |
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