Govt clears six SEZ proposals

The government formally approved five special economic zones (SEZs), four of which are from the infotech sector.

The inter-ministerial Board of Approval on SEZs, which met here today, also granted in-principle approval to Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation's 1,000 hectare multi-product SEZ located at Satara, Maharashtra.

With today's approval, 449 SEZs have received formal approvals, a status granted to zones which have acquired land.

A commerce ministry release also said that 206 of these zones had been notified, a requirement for the zones to be accredited as tax-free industrial areas.

Infotech SEZs which received formal approvals include Brigade Enterprises at Mangalore in Karnataka (10.17 hectare), Wellgrow Buildcon Private Ltd at Gurgaon in Haryana (24.29 hectare), Sunwise Properties at Gurgaon in Haryana (10.21 hectare) and Smart City (Kochi) Infrastructure at Kochi in Kerala (94.91 hectare).

In addition, Vivi Biotech's SEZ (10.93 hectare) at Medak in Andhra Pradesh was also given formal approval.

Till December 2007, Rs 67,347 crore had been invested in 195 notified zones, with more than 61,000 people getting employment there.