Page 24 - CO_February_2022

COVER STORY
GUEST ARTICLE

CONSTRUCTION & REAL ESTATE-

POST PANDEMIC

Come Janta Curfew on Post COVID, work-from-home and e-learning c. Cost of Labor as well as Material has
22nd March 2020 and life models have become order of the day. increased and is no longer sustainable
changed forever. COVID-induced lockdowns with restrictions in under present Contract conditions.
movements have compelled Construction & d. Quality of work is severely affected as
Real Estate sector to adopt a digital way of migratory skilled workers are unavailable
doing business. Developers, prospective home as also a large number of unskilled workers
buyers and sellers including Corporates and have given it a miss.
intermediaries have been using realty portals e. Non availability of Oxygen during
and other digital tools for a few years now, but Fabrication has resulted in delays and
the pandemic has taken it to the next level. other techniques being adopted thereby
Especially the 2nd and 3rd wave of COVID-19 delaying the product completion.
have prompted people to save, rather than f. Delay in supply of raw material has
spend. This is in contrast with the first wave resulted in delays in Completion Timeline
in 2020, when the contraction in economic and thereby reduction in profitability of all
growth was driven primarily by supply stakeholders.
disruptions due to a prolonged nation-wide g. Increase in Labor & Material cost have
lockdown. This has particularly impacted rendered all cleverly formulated contracts
home purchases in the country that require into great difficulty as regards Escalation
big-ticket investments. & Unit Rates.
The emerging OMICRON realities have made h. Engineers too are unavailable for site work
all stakeholders to move back to travel safe and have preferred to WFH with alternate
mode. We dive in deep to understand how firms.
the construction world has changed during i. Contractors are building inventory,
this pandemic: securing critical materials and long-lead
items, and identifying alternative suppliers.
ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION FIRMS
a. Most disturbing impact of COVID is a BUILDING MATERIAL MANUFACTURERS
reduction of Migrant and Skilled workers a. Unavailability of raw material has delayed
nd
st
on sites. During the 1 & 2 wave, Workers the delivery timing.
were unable to reach their workplaces b. Due to unavailability of sufficient requisite
because of collapse of transportation manpower, supply cost has increased and
system. Now Contractors and Developers thereby cost of finished product too has
are fetching Labor from traditional U.P., increased.
Bihar, Andhra and W.B. through Air route c. The classic Saint Gobain Factory lockdown
with an additional incentive. in Chennai has resulted in severe delays in
b. Migration and Reverse Migration during Glass and other product deliveries.
1 & 2 waves has affected the pace of
nd
st
work as also the commitments made as HOME BUYERS
regards timeline. a. Space / Size of Home and proximity

26 CONSTRUCTION OPPORTUNITIES|FEBRUARY 2022