The scale of urbanisation in India is something to behold. One in every six people moving into a city in the world is an Indian citizen. This rapid movement of people leaving the countryside for urban areas is the catalyst for phenomenal growth in India’s construction sector a new report from KPMG claims.

 

The international research firm believes that urbanisation could spur on India to become the world’s third largest construction market by 2030 – and the stats seem to back up these claims.

 

Up to 12 million people a year are “urbanising” in India. Only China surpasses South Asia’s biggest country in the urbanisation steaks. India, according to KPMG, needs a sustained building spree to cope with massive demand for housing sweeping the country. Some 75 million people would subsequently be employed by India’s construction sector if such an ongoing building effort were to take place.

 

India is currently racing to build an extra 110 million homes alongside the necessary transport infrastructure. KPMG forecasts that, as a result of this frenzied construction activity, the Indian construction industry will be worth a colossal $1 trillion by 2025. 

 

KPMG also predicts that India will be home to 77 cities with more than 1 million inhabitants by 2030. Delhi, India’s capital city, would become the biggest, quadrupling in size to hit a population of 36 million.

“The world is witnessing urbanisation at an unprecedented pace, which is expected to further accelerate, and India is anticipated to lead this growth,” wrote KPMG’s sector head in India, Neeraj Bansal.

 

“This rapid urbanisation coupled with a host of other factors such as favourable demographics, policy reforms undertaken and sound macro-economic fundamentals, have made India the fastest growing large economy in the world in 2015, surpassing China.”

 

India’s young, expansive urban population could be the fire fuelling India onto new economic heights with careful management. Despite the golden opportunities afforded by urbanisation on such an unprecedented scale, deep reforms are needed in India’s complex bureaucratic processes, funding and skills development KPMG suggests. 

 

India is quickly becoming fertile ground for investors in construction. Up to $1 trillion worth of spending is needed to upgraded India’s outdated infrastructure networks between now and 2030, with a further $2.2 trillion investment projected to fulfil India’s housing demand.

 

You can read the KPMG report here.

 

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