Introduction
It is doubtless that the construction industry plays a major in not only developed countries but in every part of the world. In other words, construction is a major economic pillar regardless of the development standards of a given country. It is estimated that the sector accounts for approximately eight trillion US Dollars annually, which is more than fifteen percent of the global output.
While this is the case, it is equally important to note that China and the United States are major players in the industry, as they are the leading markets (Boser and Merrill 3). China’s market share is estimated to be 15% ahead of the United States, which has 14%.
In understanding construction sector, it is worth noting the growth of the sector in every country varies widely. This is based on certain factors, which may hinder or promote the entire sector.
The construction practices in these countries also differ and have a significant impact on the growth of the industry. This paper compares construction in three countries, China, America and India. In order to achieve this goal, the paper will focus on certain aspect of the industry, like the background, economics, technology, laws and a general summary.
Background
China’s exponential economic growth has turned most of its urban centers into construction sites, attracting developers from all walks of life. This growth has also had impact on the global scale as most of the climbing cranes used in most parts of the world are believed to have worked in Shanghai in mid 1990s. While this is the case, it is worth noting that China’s construction sector has a long history, spanning centuries ago.
Advancement in technology has also transformed China’s construction industry, with modern approaches being adopted to meet the needs of the sector (Boser and Merrill 1). For instance, most high rising structures in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai are constructed using modern technology while mud bricks are widely used in rural areas in the country.
It is believed that China’s construction industry started to experience tremendous changes in 1980s after the government adopted economic reforms. Based on this, regulations were introduced to create a balanced environment for investors and other stakeholders in the market. The World Bank equally played a major role in introducing international contractors in China.
As a result, the quality and standards of most buildings was guaranteed (Boser and Merrill 1). Additionally, this strengthened competition within the industry as contractors focused on meeting the needs of the country, through cost effective and good technology. Some of these reforms, which were adopted in 1980s, are commonly applied across the country, especially in competitive bidding.
In order to propel the country to competitive levels of construction, the Ministry of Construction was opened towards the end of 1980s. Among other things, the ministry’s role to implement strategies aimed at augmenting development of the entire sector.
This ministry has continued to formulate polices, manage construction standards, and improve relevant technological practices in the industry. This ministry works with line ministries in ensuring that construction standards in China remain high.
Economics
As mentioned before, the construction industry has played a major role in the history of China, with regard to its economic contribution. This has been the case since 1978 when China adopted policies, which allow allowed easy connection with other countries (Boser and Merrill 2). As a result, China experience economic growth of up to 9% of the Gross Domestic Product, with a commendable increase in total investment in fixed assets.
It is worth noting that the China’s construction industry is widespread. In fact, some experts argue that the entire country could be considered to be a construction site because of its potential. The sector registers approximately $93 billion annually as output and provides employment opportunities to more than twenty million people in the country. This accounts to about five percent of the country’s labor force.
Additionally, the construction industry accounts to at least six percent of the total GDP (Boser and Merrill 3). Among other factors, it has been argued that the growth, which has been witnessed in the sector, has largely been augmented by insufficient infrastructure and building space.
The industry is mainly divided into three categories, which play a major role in supporting the country’s economy through job creation. These classes are: State Owned Enterprises, Urban and Collectives, and Rural Construction Teams. In general, these segments play crucial roles and provide millions of jobs to Chinese. The industry has also experienced an increase in the number of contractors, who are major stakeholders.
Between 2008 and 2009, China witnessed an increase of 27.6% in the number of contractors as the growth in design was estimated to be 22.6%. Additionally, China’s leading construction companies registered an annual growth of 31.5% (Boser and Merrill 4).
It is however important to note that domestic projects played a pivotal role in realizing this growth. This growth has also been linked to the construction of a modern rail city, post-earthquake reconstruction, and games among other factors.
Technology
China is known for its rich architectural value. As a result, the historic Great Wall was constructed, being of the two manmade structures, which can be seen from outer space. China also has structural wonders, which reveal high level of creativity and technology, including the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City Complex. It is however important to note that most of buildings in China were constructed using concrete and masonry techniques.
Nevertheless, China’s construction industry has undergone significant transformation. Its close links with the Soviet Union, equally shaped the country’s construction path in 1950s and 1960s (Campanella 120). For instance, those structures, which were constructed under the supervision of Russians, were mainly made of concrete.
Russians also preferred heavy constructions in order to support four to eight storey buildings, which were mainly commercial or residential. These structures were also cost effective, since they did not employ intensive architectural skills.
Even though some of the modern structures in China have been constructed using reinforced concrete, it is important to note that most contractors focus on architectural detail. This has gained attention in the industry across the world as it sets performance pace. Based on this, most Chinese new buildings resemble others around the world in terms of architectural design, even though Chinese builders integrate traditional techniques (Campanella 121).
It has been observed that construction practices in modern China resemble those observed in North America. In essence, it is possible to find a building in Beijing, Shanghai or Kunming, which almost resembles those in North America. Most of these structures are usually built of concrete frame, with a net, covering it to avoid causing injuries to people around during the construction exercise.
Most of the major cities in China also regulate construction in terms of architectural requirements, zoning regulations, and safety and product standards (Boser and Merrill 4). For instance, there is regulation in some parts of Beijing that limits the height of buildings to six stories.
Among other things, this regulation ensures that buildings are well-ventilated and receive sufficient sunshine. It also helps to prevent cases of fire accidents and preserves China’s traditional construction elements.
Furthermore, building sites in China are mostly self-contained as compared to those found in Western countries. As a result, concrete is usually mixed on the site to allow quick delivery of high quality concrete. On the other hand, American regulations require the concrete to be mixed and delivered on the site within ninety minutes. It is believed that the long traffic queues in China would not allow ninety-minutes regulation.
Scaffolding is also common in most construction in China (Boser and Merrill 4). It is however paramount to note that technology has significantly revolutionized the construction industry in China. Today, China prides of some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, built with high class construction technology. It competes favorably with major players in the industry around the world.
Laws
China’s construction industry operates within Construction Law, which was adopted in the year 1997 to regulate the activities of the industry. Before the enactment of this law, construction activities were mainly regulated by bodies, which ensured that all the activities were within a given range.
It is therefore important to note that the Construction Law was formed on the principles of these bodies even though new regulations were also incorporated (Boser and Merrill 5). Nevertheless, the ministry of construction identified sections of the law, which proved to a hindrance to the growth of the industry and even their implementation.
Most of the areas that posed challenges were contract prices, unlawful sub-contracting and project supervision. As a result, amendments were made in 2004 to allow effective regulation of the industry.
For instance, the Construction Law emphasizes the need for all technical and professional personnel engaged in construction activities to have necessary skills and certificates. Additionally, architects, surveyors and engineers are allowed to perform their duties after certification. Importantly, this law applies to both Chinese and foreign personnel involved in the construction activities.
Besides individuals, the law also requires firms involved in activities like consultancy, tendering, design, inspection, and supervision to be accredited before being allowed to transact any business within the industry (Boser and Merrill 5). The law also requires certified personnel and construction firms to buy professional liability insurance. This requirement is not mandatory, even though the Chinese government encourages concerned parties to obey it.
On the hand, the law requires all activities pertaining tendering and bidding to be carried in a transparent manner, which upholds equality and fairness. This section of the law was incorporated in order to address related issues as they were not covered when the ministry of construction adopted the laws in 1997.
While this law applies to all construction contracts, emphasized is put on constructed activities that have been funded by the government. Such works are supposed to be conducted based on the regulations of the ministry of construction. Additionally, all contracts have to be clear in terms of the cost of the project, scope, quality, and the duration within which the project is likely to be completed.
Construction Industry in America
America’s construction industry has a long history dating back to the days of civilization. From carvings of skilled artisans, the history of the industry has significantly changed based on the current technology being employed. These changes were mainly initiated by the global increase in population and the Industrial Revolution. However, this growth has sometimes been hindered by global economic meltdown.
Due to the improvements that were early witnessed in the industry, more buildings sprout as less work was being done manually (Chapman and Butry 1). Additionally, architectural developments equally played a fundamental role in promoting construction of well-designed and standardized buildings. This has continued to influence the entire industry as new designs are frequently developed by architects.
Besides the advancement in technology, the creation of other construction materials like steel and concrete also altered the industry’s growth and trends. Concrete is considered to be cheap and strong, and can be used in almost all types of construction works.
On the other hand, the introduction of steel in the construction sector guaranteed interior strength especially for large scale structures. These developments were crucial as they helped to reduce construction cost that mainly emanated from the use of bricks.
It is also believed that the creation of the American interstate highway also contributed to the growth of the construction industry in America after WWII. In essence, the highway enhanced accessibility to other cities and created room for the sprouting of suburbs. This generated a high demand for housing as people and commercial centers concentrated in such place (Chapman and Butry 3).
Through use of basic architectural designs and affordable construction materials, the country witnessed an exponential growth in houses. This also created business for home builders across the country to meet the needs of people. However, the housing and construction sector has largely been affected by financial crises, which have been witnessed.
Economy
The construction industry plays a major role in the economic development of America. It heavily contributes to the country’s Gross Domestic Product annually. In fact, the sector has profoundly promoted impressive economic growth that has been witnessed since 1989. In general, the exemplary performance of the construction industry can largely be related to the overall economic growth witnessed in the country, represented by GDP (Rothbard 194).
Construction sector experienced significance growth between 1987 and 2006 before the financial crisis that deeply hit the housing industry. In 1987, the sector registered $35 billion as compared to $448 billion in 2006.
In general, construction is considered to be the engine of America’s economy. This is based on the fact that production of products and delivery of services can only be realized if there is proper investment in plant and facilities. Importantly, good infrastructure ensures that there is smooth flow of necessary goods and services to reach the consumers.
It also augments the movement of people from one point to another as they engage in development activities. Housing also accommodates new households and encourages others to expand their housing capacity. In other words, the economy of America is intertwined with the construction sector.
With regards to employment, more than eleven Americans are employed by the sector, translating to about 8% of the country’s workforce. It is however important to underscore the fact that the construction workforce differs largely because of private investors in the industry.
The number of self-employed workers in the sector is estimated to be 1.8 million (Chapman and Butry 5). This is mainly attributed to advancement in technology, which allows private investors to establish construction firms and hire people.
With regards to technology, the construction industry has adopted interoperability, which augments communication among various parties, including clients, contractors, designers, and legal units among others. This allows good flow of information, thus promoting better performance (Rothbard 194).
Construction Industry in India
India is one of the fasted growing economies in the world. This growth has been linked to an array of factors, including large population, better market connectivity with other nations and its domestic sectors of the economy. The construction industry is an integral part of the country’s economy and has contributed to the development of other sectors of the economy (Neeraj 8).
Importantly, construction is ranked second largest after agriculture. It accounts for approximately 65% of the total infrastructural development in the country. Up to 11% of India’s GDP is generated investments in the construction sector.
The demand for construction materials like cement has continuously gone up due to the exponential demand for housing and other structures. The country has also witnessed a rise in foreign direct investment as a result of the positive growth in construction.
India’s economy presents an array of opportunities, especially within the construction industry. This is based on the high need of infrastructure in the country. Economists project that the real estate industry is likely to realize €58 billion output by the year 2015 (Gahlot 144).
The increase is also attributed to the massive advancement in technology, high demand for residential housing and organized hospitality. Foreign direct investment is also expected to increase as a result of these advancements. Additionally, the need for roads, railways, airports, and power, equally present a wide range of opportunities for the county’s economy.
Furthermore, India has a large segment of young population, thus presenting the need for new housing. It has been estimated that the country is in need of more than forty one million housing units. As a result, retailing of houses has become a booming business in the recent years.
On the other hand, there is need for sanitation and water supply projects, which depend on the construction industry (Gahlot 144). These projects offer up to €4.27 billion annual investment. With regards to power, the government of India has formulated a blueprint, aimed at supplying electricity to all its households.
From this, it is evident that the Indian construction industry has an array of opportunities which are likely to propel its growth. Due to these opportunities, it is evident that India has created an environment that allows business opportunities.
Nevertheless, support from other ministries will also be instrumental in realizing this potential (Neeraj 8). The population of India equally presents opportunities as the country is experiencing high shortage of housing units.
Conclusion
Construction industry is a major sector in the world today. It presents a host of opportunities, which allow the growth of other related ministries. Importantly, construction is essential in every country, regardless of whether they are developed or not.
As seen in this research, China, America, and India have play a major role in the world’s construction industry. The three countries have a leading share in the market, which has been developed for a period of time.
Works Cited
Boser, Richard, and Chris Merrill. Building Construction in China: Spanning the Centuries. International Technology And Engineering Educators Association, 31 Mar. 2013. Web. 2000. <www.iteaconnect.org/mbrsonly/Library/TTT/TTTe/5-00boser.pdf>.
Campanella, Thomas. The Concrete Dragon: China’s Urban Revolution and What it Means for the World. Shanghai: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008. Print.
Gahlot, Peter. Construction Planning And Management. New Delhi: New Age International, 2007. Print.
Neeraj, Kumar. Construction Project Management. New Delhi: Pearson Education India, 2010. Print.
Robert, Chapman, and David Butry. Measuring and Improving the Productivity of the U.S. Construction Industry: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities. National Institute of Standards and Technology, 31 Mar. 2013. Web. 2008. <www.nist.gov/manuscript-publication-search.cfm?pub_id=861533>.
Rothbard, Murray. America’s Great Depression. New York: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2000. Print.