With the onset of COVID-19 outbreak, the Urban Planning and Designing has been witnessing quite the disruption with the rising need for new methodologies and approaches; a search for an answer to the question on the current format of urban planning model in terms of density, provision of resilient infrastructures etc. However, with advancements in new age technologies and support from the Government, we are likely to witness a positive growth in the market of urban planning and designing. As residents were not a part of the decision making process, urban designs and planning in India and other developing nations have not been to the standard, thus resulting in largely unplanned and haphazard development of cities. Therefore, this has created the need for a consultative approach with respect to the responsiveness towards social distancing needs, while catering towards the development of informal areas, and holistically supporting better health, better water management, climate adaptation, to name a few.
Coming to the fore, Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats (ICT) established in 1987 has been leveraging its decades of experience in creating a robust approach, wherein, they involve stakeholders from day one to understand every expectation from their side. The company with its core group of in-house experts that comes with vast experience in various aspects of Urban Planning has been a one-stop shop for all urban infrastructure planning needs. With its headquarters in Green Park, New Delhi, ICT also has well established offices in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Mongolia and Philippines. The group has a dedicated team of over 1000 professional staff with the state-of-the art knowledge of international standards.
“We are proud of providing quality services to our clients and are committed to the community that we work with. We have been catering to both national and international clients when it concerns the deliverability of urban planning and design projects of all sizes and types from initiation to completion. Our inhouse multidisciplinary team equips us to address the economic, social, physical and environmental aspects of all planning and development projects in an integrated manner. A flexible and holistic developmental approach has been the Mantra of our Success,” signifies Prashant Kapila, COO at ICT.
“We have always defined minimum timelines and minimum fee while finalizing our contracts, with the singular aim of not compromising on quality, which has more often than not found takers in the new emerging conscientious clients, not just in the private sector but also the government sector,” he adds.
Defining A True One-Stop Solution
As an ISO-9001:2015 Certified Company and a premier, fully integrated professional and technical services firm, ICT specialises in providing comprehensive services such Feasibility Studies, Detailed Design Engineering and Construction supervision in the Infrastructure sectors such as Roads and Highways, Bridges and Structures, Tunnels, Aviation, Rail and Transit, Urban and Regional Infrastructure Development and Maritime. We completely focus on quality projects that have maximum impact on ground. ICT not only deploys committed staff and utilizes the latest technological tools available, but does not shy away from bringing in staff with wide international exposure as well.
ICT was one of the first to take up infrastructure and urban planning projects in developing countries under difficult geographical and political conditions, e.g., Mongolia, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, etc. Over a span of 33 years, the Company has achieved significant diversification on a sectoral basis with highways being the core and a strong presence in other infrastructure and urban planning sectors. Moreover, the company has arguably been the benchmark for comprehensive services such as feasibility studies, detailed design engineering and construction supervision in the infrastructure sectors including roads and highways, bridges and structures, tunnels, aviation, rail and transit, to name a few.
“We have always defined minimum timelines and minimum fee while finalizing our contracts, with the singular aim of not compromising on quality, which has more often than not found takers in the new emerging conscientious Clients, not just in the Private Sector but also the Government sector,” highlights Prashant.
ICT has always been committed to the community that they work with - both nationally and internationally. They have been successfully handling urban planning and design projects of all sizes and types from beginning to completion. Their in-house multidisciplinary team equips us to address the economic, social, physical and environmental aspects of all planning and development projects in an integrated manner; a flexible and holistic developmental approach as the mantra for success. ICT has been not only
keeping themselves busy in developing various Smart City Plans, Master Plans, City Development Plans (CDP), Integrated Strategic Urban Development Plans (ISUDP), City Business Plans (CBP), City Sanitation Action Plans, and Disaster Management Plans, but has also successfully carried out Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) for a large number of infrastructure projects.
Quality Deliverability With Total Accountability
The major USPs of ICT have always been the assurance, trust, accountability, responsiveness and quality factors across every project deliverability. The company has been perfectly playing a role of a designer/planner firm who they can be always trusted to give clients honest advice. They hold responsibility for all project related matters under one banner and are fully responsive to the needs of the client and the project at all times.
Furthermore, ICT is known to always provide the correct advice to its clients, even though it may be harsh. The company has all the necessary experts to deliver the assignments, wherein a well-designed quality assurance system is kept in place for all projects, ensuring a product which is responsive to the needs of all the stakeholders.
Keeping Employees Abreast Of Latest Trends
ICT has an elaborate training program that ensures that the staff are always kept abreast of the latest technologies and tools. This significantly helps in delivering the clients innovative, sustainable and effective solutions for their development needs. “Our low attrition rate with an average 15 years of engagement with the firms gives confidence to Clients, as project knowledge remains with one set of people, and is not lost on account of change in personnel or by using multiple agencies,” adds Prashant.
Prashant Kapila, COO
“We provide services related to urban planning, regional planning, local area development plans, architecture design and solutions, urban renewal, transport planning, Transit Oriented Development Planning, Corridor planning, planning for eco-sensitive areas, City Master Plans, City Development Plans, City Business Plans, City Sanitation Planning, feasibility studies, airport design, railway station design, slum improvement and capacity building and institutional development,“ he adds.
The major USPS of ICT have always been the assurance, trust, accountability, responsiveness and quality factors across every project deliverability. The company has been perfectly playing a role of a designer/ planner firm who they can be always trusted to give clients honest advice
A History Of Excellence
Since the conception of ICT, it has been striding forward with numerous successful project deliverability which are special in their own terms. ICT’s first international breakthrough was with the Nepal Civil Aviation Studies funded by Asian Development Bank in 1991. It involved the study of 40 airstrips across Nepal to gauge the infrastructure development required for tourism in Nepal. The company also established itself in Mongolia and has successfully completed over 40 Projects in composing Roads, Water, Solid Waste Management, Institutional strengthening and Capacity Building. Moreover, the company has also got experience in working in a war ravaged country of Afghanistan that required urgent infrastructure development, despite the security concerns and immense hardships. The list goes on and on, for instance, they have also developed expressways in India namely Taj and Vadodara-Mumbai Expressways of 6 to 8 lanes. They also supervised Atal Tunnel, Rohtang, which is the World’s highest Road Tunnel which was recently inaugurated by the Honorable Prime Minister of India.
Furthermore, ICT has been also ranked ‘Top Consultants’ by Asian Development Bank in all the three types of ADB Projects, i.e. Loan, Grant and TA. While, when it concerns the Loan and Grant Projects, ICT was named as the top most Indian Firm with the highest contract values in the transport sector. Moreover, the company has been awarded with a number of prestigious awards such as Niryat Shree Award for outstanding achievement in export of Consultancy Services during 2009 - 2010, which was awarded by the Honorable President of India in October 2012. All these awards and recognition speaks to the innumerable amount of expertise that ICT brings into the fore for its clients and to the nation it is catering to.
“ICT provides a blend of domestic and global reach, local knowledge, innovation and technical excellence in delivering customised and creative solutions that meet the needs of client’s projects”
The Pinnacle Of Excellence
ICT provides a blend of domestic and global reach, local knowledge, innovation and technical excellence in delivering customised and creative solutions that meet the needs of Client’s Projects. ICT has provided potential solutions to the most complex challenging Projects. Hence to conclude, ICT represents “the pinnacle of excellence” in nine key performance areas that includes ability to attract and retain talented people, quality of management, social responsibility to the community and the environment, innovativeness, quality of services, wise use of corporate assets, financial soundness, long-term investment value, and effectiveness in business.
Working With An Approach Of “Think Globally, Act Locally”
ICT consistently puts its effort in identifying opportunities at home and abroad, exploring new business models and contracts, understanding the skills profile needed, and successfully leading digital transformation. “We will evolve to meet the changing needs of the existing market, while collaborating to grow into new areas in policy (strategic planning) and operations. We endeavour to deploy our expertise to set the roadmap to Net Zero and adopt a new role for consultancy as a technical partner where our expertise provides the evidence for how to deliver the political, national and local drivers of value,” exclaims Prashant.
“We shall equally promote the initiative that our honourable Prime Minister has taken to boost MSMEs under Atmanirbhar Bharat that entails significant push on Social Infrastructure too, particularly the Healthcare that is expected to boost with increased Government spending. We see a lot of opportunities in these sectors,” he concludes.
