The growth of domestic players in India’s construction equipment industry is getting “distracted” due to rising cheap Chinese imports, according to Tata Hitachi Managing Director Sandeep Singh.

Speaking on the sidelines of CII’s Global Mining Summit here on Wednesday, Singh said Chinese players were benefitting more from India’s infrastructure development than Indian construction equipment manufacturers.

“The Chinese penetration in the excavators segment has intensified in recent months, reaching about 20-22 per cent. This is very high. Five years back, it was not even 10 per cent,” Singh said, adding Chinese penetration had also increased in other segments of the construction equipment industry.

Currently, India’s construction equipment industry is around $9-10 billion.

Singh called for government intervention to address the trend of rising Chinese imports and create some entry barriers to protect Indian companies’ interests. He urged the government to take measures to encourage companies that have invested heavily in Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives, countering “unfair competition” from Chinese imports.

A joint venture between Tata Motors and Hitachi Construction Machinery Company of Japan, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company is the market leader in the excavators segment of India’s construction equipment market. The company lost five percent market share in five years mainly due to cheap Chinese imports.

Notably, BEML, a Central Public Sector Enterprise, had earlier exited from the construction equipment space due to intense competition from cheap imported products. After a hiatus of nearly five years, the company has re-entered the sector as a part of its restructuring plan.

The company has recently undergone a significant business restructuring, establishing 11 strategic business units (SBUs) and two micro business units to drive sustainable long-term growth.

“As a part of this restructuring, we have re-entered the construction equipment business, focusing on higher capacity products to tap into the massive the ₹45,000 crore market,” BEML Chairman & Managing Director Shantanu Roy told reporters on the sidelines of the CII event.

Roy informed the company has outlined a capital expenditure of over ₹900 crore in the next two financial years. The capital expenditure will be to modernise its facilities, invest in new technologies, and expand its manufacturing capacity.

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