IFC to invest in SEZs, eyes Maha Mumbai

The World Bank's private sector lending arm International Finance Corporation, which plans to hike its exposure in India to $1.5 billion by 2007, is looking at investments in special economic zones, including Maha Mumbai.

"A number of SEZs have approached us. We are examining a couple of them, including the Maha Mumbai SEZ," IFC South Asia Director Dimitris Tsitsiragos told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar.

He said investments in SEZs would pick up after Parliament cleared a Bill, which proposes a stable fiscal regime among other things.

Nearly 13 private sector SEZs have been in the pipeline for over four years now but not a single one of them have achieved financial closure. Tsitsiragos said IFC might invest in both equity and debt of the Rs 4,950 crore Maha Mumbai SEZ project, coming up near the Jawaharlal Nehru Port. If it materialises, this will be the first SEZ in south Asia to get IFC funding.

Maha Mumbai promoter Nikhil Gandhi said his company Gujarat Sea King had approached about 15 banks and financial institutions. The debt-equity ratio has been fixed at 2:1 for the project to be spread over 7,500 acres.

Speaking at the seminar, Tsitsiragos said the global experience showed that SEZs provided an opportunity for higher growth in exports, employment, technology transfers and hence, higher growth in the economy. He also said the financing decision would depend on the location of the zones.

World Bank executive director CM Vasudev said development of SEZs through relaxation of various laws are a good way to sequence reforms.

Since changes in labour laws and other tough reforms take time, he said it was good to create islands of productivity to increase the country's competitiveness globally.

Land acquisition norms, restrictions of foreign investment and labour laws are cited as hindrances to the development of zones. The proposed central legislation proposes to ease some restrictions while various states are also in the process of enacting laws for the designated areas.