SMEC has appointed Ashish Kumar as head of rail & metro in India, strengthening the company’s transport infrastructure portfolio in the country.

Mr Kumar joins SMEC with over 22 years’ extensive experience in managing large, multidisciplinary teams and delivering infrastructure projects in the UK, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“We have seen tremendous growth in our rail and metro business in India and Ashish’s appointment reflects our vision for and investment into the transport infrastructure sector,” said Andrew McKune, SMEC’s executive director in India. “I am excited to welcome him to our senior leadership team in this pivotal role.”

Mr Kumar said he is looking forward to meeting clients’ needs and understanding their key requirements. “My vision is to develop and build a cross-functional team that can deliver solutions tailored to our clients,” he said.

"We are steadily growing our market presence, and as we explore new business opportunities, we are enhancing our technical expertise and bringing onboard key specialists in various sectors.”

Prior to his appointment at SMEC, Mr Kumar’s previous roles and experience include head of the infrastructure vertical at Systra MVA India, technical director at AECOM, and director at Colliers International.

SMEC is currently working on a broad portfolio of rail and metro projects in India, including the Chennai Metro Phase II, detailed design for Bangalore Metro Phases 2A & 2B, the Dedicated Freight Corridor and Mumbai Metro Line 6.