MIDC hires IDFC for consultancy

Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), the state government's industrial infrastructure arm, and Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under IDFC's India Infrastructure Initiative (III).

As per the agreement, IDFC would provide consultancy services to MIDC's four projects.

The projects include a 270-hectare airport at Parule village in Sindhudurg district of Kokan, a textile SEZ over 104 hectare at Kagal in Kolhapur district, a 250-Mw power SEZs at Usar in Raigadh district and a 1,000-Mw power SEZ at Bhadrawati in Chandrapur district.

The MoU was signed by Maharashtra Industries Minister Ashok Chavan on behalf of MIDC and Rajiv Lall, chairman and managing director of IDFC.

Under the agreement, IDFC will conceptualise the projects, get all necessary central and state government approvals and develop them to a stage where they can be executed through public-private partnerships, said chief executive officer of MIDC, Rajiv Jalota.

"For providing consultative services, IDFC would not charge any fee from MIDC, but will recover the fee from the private partner in the project", Jalota added.

Speaking about the airport project, Jalota said, "A number of industrial projects are coming up in the Kokan area. Besides, the state is promoting Kokan as a tourist destination and an airport will provide the necessary connectivity."

As airport is hardly 80 km from the Goa border, it would also serve as a vital link for tourists who want to visit Goa, Jalota pointed out.