Washington DC – US architectural, project management, and design companies are scheduled to visit India later this year to get acquainted with India’s rapidly expanding market for these services. American small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that provide state-of-the-art and world class designs are visiting in order to assist US companies in pursuing export opportunities in this sector, according to the International Trade Administration (ITA).
The Architecture Services Trade Mission to India is scheduled from October 14 to 19, 2012 and is organized by the ITA, the United States Department of Commerce, the US and Foreign Commercial Service (CS), and the American Institute of Architects. It will include stops in Chennai, Kolkata, and Bangalore, where participants will receive market briefings and participate in customized meetings with key officials and prospective partners.
In line with President Barack Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI) and to fulfill his goal of doubling US exports by 2015, the ITA announced that trade mission participants will also have the option fo additional stops in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and New Delhi, where CS offices can arrange meetings with both private sector developers and state and local government officials.
Target sectors were defined which hold high potential for US exporters. They include: master planning (regional design—city planning or regional planning, neighborhood design, port redevelopment—design of the walkways, buildings, etc. along the port); hospitals and health care architecture; airports/other transportation infrastructure facility architecture; mixed-use projects architectural services; and educational (K-12, university and beyond).
The mission also hopes to help US companies already doing business in India increase their footprint and strengthen their business interests.
The department noted that India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, is seeking to invest $1 trillion in its infrastructure during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-2017) and is seeking private sector participation to fund half of this massive expansion through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
The upcoming mission would open opportunities for the US industry which is “well qualified to supply the kinds of architectural services and project management skills needed to successfully tackle major initiatives, including such groundbreaking projects as the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and the proposed 250-km Bangalore-Chennai expressway, to be built at a cumulative cost of $1 billion.”
The announcement listed some of the major upcoming opportunities for US firms as “the seven technology townships associated with the development of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), the billion dollar Chennai-Bangalore expressway, municipal construction in several large cities, large educational and hospitality projects launched by the private sector as well as multi-use township and residential projects.”
US companies interested in participating should contact Arica Young, US Commercial Service, Washington, DC, Tel: 202-482-2833, Email: [email protected] and in India Sangeeta Taneja, US Commercial Service, Ahmedabad, India, Tel: +91-79-2656-5216, Email:[email protected]. (IATNS)