Gujarat to set up 12 new industrial hubs

Gujarat, the state which pioneered the concept of the Special Investment Region (SIR), will establish 12 new industrial hubs in the next 5-6 years and expects the private sector to play a leading role in facilitating the process.

"We have 12 more such projects in the pipeline, including four which have already been notified by the government. They will all be operational by 2015-16," a senior official of the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) said here.

Gujarat passed an act for the SIRs and set up the first such hub -- Petroleum Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) spread across 4.53 lakh square hectare-- in Bharuch last year.

The state government now plans to set up the SIRs to act as industrial hubs for various sectors including auto ancillaries, chemicals, healthcare, electronics and so on.

Investment worth over Rs 70,000 crore has already gone into PCPIR and the official said similar expenditure is likely to be incurred in other SIRs as well.

ONGC Petro Additions Ltd is the anchor tenant or major investor in the PCPIR and has put in around Rs 19,000 crore into the project.

"We are looking at similar participation by the private sector in the upcoming SIRs also," the official said.

Of the new dozen SIRs, 10 would be built by the GDIC, a PSU under the state government, while the rest two are being built by the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) and the Gujarat Maritime Board.

SIRs are special regions spread over a minimum 50,000 hectares where industries can buy lands directly from local owners. However, they are not offered concessions like tax benefits as in SEZs.

"However, the main benefit of SIRs is that they provide quality infrastructure and development even before units become operational. In every SIR, 55 per cent area is to be set aside for residential townships and other non-processing units," the official said.

SIRs are regulated by Regional Development Authorities which plan, regulate and develop the zones.

Santalpur SIR of 1.86 lakh hectares (which will focus on agro industries and solar energy), Halol Savli SIR of 1.22 lakh hectare (auto ancillaries and electronics) and Viramgam-Sanand SIR of 1.38 lakh hectares (auto, engineering and healthcare) are among upcoming SIRs in the state over next 5-6 years.

"Even a small SIR like the one being built by GIDB at Dholera is of 50,000 hectares, much larger than the world's largest SEZ in Shenzhen (China) which is of 32,700 hectares," the official said.