The privatisation of the country’s first operational special economic zone (SEZ) in Pithampur (near Indore) will not be completed this year. The MP government will take more time to dilute its stake in SEZ Indore Ltd. The process, according to a senior government official, will probably be completed after the next assembly election.
Disinvestment in SEZ Indore Ltd was planned in 2005 to speed up the process of offering facilities, finances and sector-wise development for various industrial sectors through a private partner or co-developer, when it was valued at Rs 3,674 crore.
State industries department arm Audyogik Kendra Vikas Nigam (a subsidiary of the Madhya Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation) has to find another consultant for completing the bidding process, which has taken place twice in the past three years.
An empowerment committee had been formed with the chief secretary as chairman in 2005 while the process had been initiated in 2004. Land areas in the first phase of the SEZ have been allotted to as many as 31 companies. Of those, five companies, SRF Ltd and Flexituff among them, have started operations.
”Due to the increasing cost of land we will have to re-evaluate the SEZ at Indore. Earlier we had appointed Tata Consultancy and Economic Services for the purpose and we shortlisted a few bidders like Reliance Industries, DLF, and Essel World. They are still bidders in the project since they have qualified in technical bidding. We are looking at financial bidding and we now want another consultant,” said Praveen Garg, managing director of MPSIDC.
However, the state government has not altered its plan to dilute its 74 per cent stake and the co-developer or private partner will remain a partner for nine years.
More From This Section
“The reserve price or floor price will be re-examined,” Garg said adding, “Tata Economic Consultancy Services (TECS), Mumbai, had shortlisted seven out of nine contenders for SEZ Indore Ltd as technical bidder.”
TECS had shortlisted Gammon India, Wartsila India, Zoom Developers, L&T, Punj Lloyd, Tata Housing and Anik Developers. But the government put the process on the back-burner. The first phase of the SEZ is being developed on 1,038 hectares.
Now the entire SEZ of 2,500 hectares will be considered under the process. The state government has amended the SEZ Indore Act, 2005, and now it is effective for the entire state.