New Delhi, August 03: Corrosion is costing the Indian economy an estimated ₹14.15 lakh crore annually, which is 4.3% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a recent Nomura report which also shows the major economic impact of deterioration of critical infrastructure and industrial assets.
Corrosion affects highways, bridges, railways, power infrastructure, telecommunications, buildings and industrial facilities, resulting in premature asset deterioration, increased maintenance expenditure, productivity losses and higher replacement costs, the report says.
Power has the highest economic burden among the sectors, with corrosion-related losses estimated to be 10.1% of sectoral GDP, followed by telecommunications (3.8%), automobiles (3.0%) and railways (2.8%).
According to the report, India’s corrosion-related losses are significantly higher than those in many developed economies due to climatic conditions, extensive coastline, high humidity, industrial pollution and varying environmental exposure across the country.
The study suggests that global standard corrosion control and preventive measures could increase India‘s GDP by up to 1.5% by 2020 and there are the economic benefits of improving infrastructure resilience and asset life.
Several developed countries have adopted environment-specific corrosion protection practices where infrastructure protection systems are based on local climate and environmental conditions. Such an approach improves durability, minimizes maintenance costs and optimises lifecycle costs.
As such, the report says, infrastructure owners globally employ various corrosion protection products, depending on the operating environment and asset life cycle. Among those are zinc galvanization, protective coatings, weathering steel and other engineering solutions which are selected on the basis of their lifespan and cost effectiveness (in terms of maintenance and maintenance cost). Industry experts have argued that expanding more widely the global corrosion protection methodologies can not only help in maintaining India‘s infrastructure but also help in reducing the maintenance costs in the long run.
The report also indicates that infrastructure projects in India are generally implemented in a uniform way despite significant differences in climatic conditions across regions. Heavy-humidity, coastal and industrial conditions lead to more aggressive corrosion and faster deterioration, which leads to higher maintenance needs.
The study also highlights the imperative for preventive corrosion management through better engineering standards, better compliance mechanisms, periodic inspection and maintenance practices and wider adoption of internationally accepted corrosion protection technologies for different operating environments.
According to the report, corrosion management in infrastructure planning can significantly reduce long-term maintenance expenditure, improve the productivity of public assets, conserve resources and increase the overall efficiency of infrastructure investments.
With India leading the world in infrastructure development, the report indicates that improving durability and extending public asset service life will be important to maximising returns on infrastructure investments while reducing the long-term economic burden of corrosion.