ICIDS 2025 Sparks Hope for Net-Zero Future Cities
Newz Daddy Education Updates
Adani University hosted the 3rd International Conference on Infrastructure Development and Sustainability (ICIDS 2025) at its campus in Shantigram, Ahmedabad, on December 18 and 19, reinforcing its commitment to advancing dialogue on future-ready, resilient and sustainable infrastructure.
Infrastructure development has increasingly become central to how nations plan their economic and social progress. In recent years, India has focused on building systems that are not only large in scale but also sustainable, technology-driven and inclusive. Platforms like ICIDS play a key role in bringing these ideas together by allowing experts to share practical experience, research findings and policy insights in one place.
Jointly hosted by Adani University and Adani Cement, the two-day international conference brought together policymakers, industry leaders, academics, researchers and students from India and abroad. Such multi-stakeholder participation is important because infrastructure challenges today cut across sectors. Solutions require cooperation between government bodies that frame policy, companies that execute projects, and academic institutions that develop skills and innovation.
Anchored in the theme “Rethinking Infrastructure: Innovation, Sustainability, and the Future of Global Skill Development,” ICIDS 2025 positioned infrastructure as an integrated socio-technical ecosystem—central to economic growth, environmental responsibility and human capital development. Globally, infrastructure planning is moving beyond roads and buildings to include clean energy, digital networks, mobility systems and skilled manpower. This integrated approach helps cities become more liveable while reducing pressure on natural resources.
The inaugural session was graced by Mr Vinod Bahety, Chief Guest and Chief Executive Officer – Cement Business, Adani Group, and Mr Sukhdev Singh, Guest of Honour and Managing Director, AGI Infra Limited, along with senior leadership from Adani University. A key highlight was the release of the ICIDS 2025 Book of Abstracts and the Proceedings of ICIDS 2024, along with the showcase of “Cement Chalisa” by Adani Cement. Academic publications such as these help document ideas shared at conferences and allow students and professionals to use them as reference material long after the event ends.
Addressing the conference, Mr Bahety highlighted the strong linkage between infrastructure development and economic growth, emphasising the need to embed decarbonisation, digitalisation and green finance into infrastructure planning. Across the world, governments and companies are recognising that reducing carbon emissions must go hand in hand with growth. Tools like green finance and carbon markets are increasingly being used to fund cleaner projects while encouraging responsible business practices.
He underlined the importance of enabling policies such as carbon markets and regulatory reforms, while stressing that future-ready skills and industry–academia collaboration would be critical to meeting evolving infrastructure demands. Skill gaps remain a major challenge in infrastructure sectors, especially as projects adopt automation, data systems and renewable technologies. Collaboration with universities helps the industry find trained professionals who can handle these changes.
The technical programme opened with Plenary Session–1 by Mr Nayan Parikh, Chief Executive Officer, Nayan Parikh & Consultancy, who emphasised that the future of infrastructure lies not in building more assets, but in building smarter, resource-efficient and sustainable systems. Cities across India are now focusing on efficiency, better governance and citizen participation rather than only expansion.
Citing Indore Smart City, he demonstrated how effective policy frameworks, technology adoption and citizen participation can deliver outcomes such as 100% waste segregation, zero landfill operations and improved environmental quality. Indore’s experience is often shared as a model because it shows how simple daily practices, supported by technology and strong local administration, can lead to cleaner and healthier cities.
The first day also featured a fireside chat on “The Road to Net-Zero: Integrating Clean Energy into Tomorrow’s Infrastructure,” moderated by Dr Namita Pragya of Adani University. The discussion brought together Professor Tarun Gupta (IIT Kanpur), Mr Rajeev Pal (Adani Group) and Mr Vaneet Kumar (Adani New Industries Ltd.), who emphasised the need for systemic integration of clean energy across transport, buildings, logistics and urban ecosystems. Experts widely agree that isolated clean energy projects are not enough and must be linked across sectors to achieve real impact.
The second and the concluding day focused on execution excellence, with a technical briefing and guided site visit to the Vishv Umiya Dham project near Ahmedabad, recognised in the Golden Book of World Records for the world’s largest raft foundation. Site visits give participants a clear view of how complex projects are managed on the ground, from planning to safety and quality control.
Led by Mr Umesh Soni (Adani Cement) and Mr Jaimin Patel (PSP Projects Ltd.), the session showcased large-scale project planning, logistics coordination, quality control and safety management. Such exposure helps young engineers and students understand real-world challenges that cannot be fully learnt in classrooms.
The academic programme concluded with panels on future-ready mobility, skills for the infrastructure workforce, and smart city real estate transformation. Speaking on skills, Robin Bhowmik, Chief Executive Officer – Skills & Education, Adani Group, highlighted the growing demand for capabilities in automation, digitalisation, renewable energy and green technologies. These skills are increasingly shaping job roles across construction, transport and urban development.
ICIDS 2025 concluded with a clear message: India’s infrastructure future depends on integrating sustainability, technology, skills and execution at scale, driven through collaboration between academia, industry and policymakers. The conference reaffirmed that building future-ready cities is not just about structures, but about people, planning and purpose working together.
