DMIC to invite first anchor investors in August

The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) expects to invite the anchor investors to set up businesses in the hi-tech zone by August.
"We are in the final stages of completing the pre-PPP (private public partnership) process which includes forming special purpose vehicle and creating the basic infrastructure like transportation, water treatment, sewage treatment, among others.
"This work will be completed in the next 4-5 months and by August we feel we will be able to invite anchor investors for setting up their businesses there," DMIC Chief Executive Alkesh K Sharma told PTI on the sidelines of the Make in India Week here.

DMIC and six States -- Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra -- have formed SPVs for the development of nodes. The first phase of DMIC project, which envisions development of eight of the industrial nodes, is on track.
The respective states had taken the responsibility to create the necessary infrastructure, Sharma said.
The DMIC is one of the world's biggest infrastructure projects with an estimated investment of USD 90 billion, and is planned as a hi-tech industrial zone spread across seven states along the 1,500 km long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor which serves as its backbone.

It includes 24 industrial regions, eight smart cities, two airports, five power projects, two mass rapid transit systems and two logistical hubs.

The eight investment regions proposed to be developed in Phase I of DMIC are Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad (in UP); Manesar- Bawal (in Haryana); Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana and Jodhpur- Pali-Marwar (in Rajasthan); Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow (in MP); Ahmedabad-Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) in Gujarat; the Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Park and Dighi Port Industrial Area in Maharashtra.
The Ahmedabad-Dholera SIR is the biggest of these with a total area of 920 sq km, with a target residential population of 2 million and employment for 8,00,000 people by 2040.
Sharma said the project aims to develop sustainable global cities with world-class infrastructure to manage rapid urbanisation and create large-scale employment opportunities in these cities.

Not only domestic firms but many international players have also shown keen interest in setting up their businesses in the corridor, he said. "We are getting inquiries from many international firms who want to set up either their manufacturing facilities or an R&D facility here."
The government has also proposed to develop four more corridors - between Bengaluru-Mumbai, Amritsar-Kolkata, Chennai-Vizag and Chennai-Bengaluru.