Nagpur: Hemraj Parate, a Nagpur native and alumnus of Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering (YCCE), has been honoured with the inaugural AI Innovation Award by Primoris, a Fortune 500 infrastructure company in the United States, for developing an artificial intelligence-driven platform aimed at transforming infrastructure project bidding and decision-making.
Parate, along with his three-member team, received the prestigious award and a cash prize of $7,500 in recognition of their innovative AI-based solution designed to optimise bid strategies and improve decision-making for large-scale public infrastructure projects.
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The award-winning platform leverages artificial intelligence to analyse project opportunities, assess risks, evaluate construction methodologies and provide competitive intelligence for infrastructure bidding. The innovation is expected to streamline what has traditionally been a manual and data-intensive process, enabling more informed and efficient decisions on major transportation and civil engineering projects.
Speaking about the achievement, Parate said that while artificial intelligence is often associated with software and Silicon Valley, its application in highways, transportation and public infrastructure has remained relatively unexplored.
“Our work demonstrates how AI can create tangible value in infrastructure development by improving the way large public projects are evaluated and pursued,” he said.
Originally from Nagpur, Parate graduated from YCCE before pursuing higher studies at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He has nearly 15 years of professional experience in infrastructure estimating and cost engineering and is currently based in the United States.
Over the course of his career, he has contributed to numerous transportation, civil and public infrastructure projects across the US, including assignments for State Departments of Transportation such as the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), federally funded infrastructure programmes, National Park projects and military-related facilities.
For the past five years, Parate has specialised in infrastructure estimating and bid strategy, evaluating projects valued between $5 million and over $500 million (approximately Rs 40 crore to Rs 4,300 crore). His role involves developing cost models, analysing project risks, assessing construction methods and supporting strategic bidding decisions for large public infrastructure works.
Among the major assignments he has supported is a $350 million infrastructure project along a key US-Mexico trade corridor.
The AI platform developed by Parate and his team reflects the growing adoption of artificial intelligence in the infrastructure sector, where technology is increasingly being used to enhance planning, cost estimation and project execution.
Parate said he was proud to share the recognition with the people of his hometown, adding that he hopes the achievement inspires young engineers from Nagpur to pursue innovation and embrace emerging technologies in traditional engineering disciplines.
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