As southwest monsoon takes hold on India’s coastline, with heavy rainfall, high humidity and salt-laden winds, infrastructure experts are calling for a rethink in the way public assets are designed and protected in coastal areas.
According to Dr. Rahul Sharma, Director, International Zinc Association (India), India’s coastal infrastructure is under far more dire environmental pressures than inland ones and much of it is still being maintained in a more uniform fashion. “Every monsoon reminds us that infrastructure must be designed not only for the loads it carries, but also for the environment in which it operates,” he said.
The coastline of India’s 7,500-km spans highways, railway systems, ports, bridges, airports, power infrastructure and public buildings that are exposed to long-term moisture, high humidity and chloride-rich marine air conditions that rapidly lead to a deterioration in steel and reinforced concrete. With expanding investments in Indian ports, coastal highways, freight lines, industrial corridors, metro rail, airports and logistics facilities, experts say durability should be a key design concern and not just a secondary factor.
Assets that are now being built will be the backbone of the country for decades to come, and quality of the transportation and logistics services is just as important as the initial investment. Long-term infrastructure that lasts and maintains itself not only saves maintenance costs but also protects public safety and yields better returns to taxpayers paying for it.
Despite its wide environmental differences, India follows common infrastructure specifications in most areas of the country; in most places, the infrastructure is largely the same. There are other developed countries that classify infrastructure according to the corrosive environment and therefore the type of corrosion protection systems are different, which is based on the condition of the environment and where the environment is favourable or not.
Corrosion costs economies about 3-4% of GDP in the world every year, and India is under even greater stress because of its long coastline, tropical climate and increasing infrastructure. According to experts, a lot of these losses can be prevented through better choice of materials and higher engineering quality and proactive corrosion control.
Dr. Sharma said infrastructure planning should gradually shift from being based primarily on construction costs to focusing on lifecycle performance and durability, maintenance as well as long term value. “Every additional year of service life provides less maintenance costs and less disruption to public services and more value for investment. With coastal infrastructure projects like Sagarmala, adaptation of infrastructure for climatic conditions should be the foundation of engineering practice,” he said. Internationally, corrosion protection measures including zinc-based galvanization for appropriate steel applications are widely adopted in aggressive coastal areas because they significantly extend the service life of steel structures while lowering lifecycle maintenance costs. Experts have recommended to standards-setting bodies and infrastructure ministries in coastal infrastructure to set exposure-based corrosion standards and to follow those of other countries to address the issue.
