Feasibility Study on Integration of Green Technologies in Prospective Construction Projects: A Case of Vishakhapatnam

Abstract

Purpose: The construction sector is one of the important sectors that play an important role in country’s infrastructure development. The haphazard urbanization, industrialization and population explosion, have driven this sector vulnerable in terms of causing impacts on the environment. The construction process involves several stages and numerous stake holders, while this sector remains unorganised in most developing countries. These unintegrated processes in urban expansion, development and construction lead to a huge amount of emissions that cause environmental degradation. This emphasises the need to establish the use of ‘Green Technologies’ and ‘Green Materials’ in the Construction Sector at least as a beginning to bridge the gap between practices in the allied sectors as well.

Design/Methodology/Approach: With a view to examine this possibility, the feasibility of green technologies was considered to be studied, for Eastern Vishakhapatnam, the selected study area, which is a developing potential zone identified for potential integration of Green Technologies in construction processes. A comprehensive literature review to identify the major accomplishments and shortcomings in the chosen field, followed by a pre-feasibility analysis was conducted through an organized site visit during an academic project that included personal interaction with the concerned stakeholders and an assessable questionnaire survey. The notion of this study was to collect the details of similar category projects for the incorporation of select ‘green technologies’ identified from relevant literature studies in domains such as energy, material and waste management, which are known to cause maximum impact on the environment.  This procedure in turn formed the very basis of the overall methodology of this study.

Findings/Result: The analysis of outcomes of the survey helped in developing a breakthrough understanding about the stakeholder’s potential and roles in the overall feasibility of integrating the Green Technologies. Nevertheless, the comparison of the prospective projects in the study area, with the existing projects of the same category that have successfully adopted the green technologies abroad, helped to optimize the framework of integrating green technologies, using green materials based on the above-mentioned domains, for the proposed pilot project. It is inferred from the analysis that it is possible to integrate green technologies in the domains of energy, materials and waste management in prospective projects, if certain constraints and challenges related to social, administrative and economic spheres are eradicated thus encouraging Sustainable Development.

Originality/Value: Integrated strategy of adopting green technologies with green construction practices, in major identified domains of energy, materials and waste management will fetch new outcomes and lead towards aiding sustainable development.

Paper Type: Ex-Post Facto Research