UK's Man group may set up IT SEZ in MP

Man Industries (India) Ltd, a member of the Man group of the UK, has proposed a Rs 14,000 crore IT-based special economic zone (SEZ) in Madhya Pradesh.

The company, according to a senior official in the department of information technology, has said it will invest Rs 10,000 crore to complete this project in a phased manner, spending Rs 2,000 crore over five years.

"The state government has given in-principle clearance to the project," a government spokesperson said.

The company has plans to develop the IT SEZ over 265 acres in 10 years, developing 1 million square metres each year.

The IT SEZ will have 6 million square metres for the IT park, etc.

"The company has identified a plot, which includes private as well as government land, in Bagarda village of Indore. It has asked the government for this plot," said the official.

The state government will have grant permission to the firm to utilise the privately-owned land for public purposes by making amendments to the Land Acquisition Act of 1894.

From being a trading firm to a professionally managed manufacturing company, the group has a presence in infrastructure support. It manufactures sub-merged arc welded pipes for oil and gas firms, power generators and petro-chemicals units.

The Man group's turnover was $400 million, the official said, adding, "the Project Implementation and Clearance Board (PICB) has given in-principle approval and has forwarded the proposal to the Board of Approvals of the Union ministry of commerce."

The company will be offered concessions and sops, announced in the recently launched State Information and Technology Policy.

Though several private companies have shown interest in setting up private SEZs in the information technology sector in Indore, the government-created IT SEZ in Indore has no takers so far.