The financial closure of the proposed Navi Mumbai special economic zone (SEZ) would be achieved before the end of the current fiscal, according to Maharashtra chief secretary V Ranganathan.'
The Navi Mumbai SEZ is to be developed on 4, 600 hectares of land by the state-run City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) in association with private sector. He added that a special purpose vehicle would be formed for the implementation of the project.
Ranganathan, who was speaking at a seminar on 'Globalisation imperatives for India' organised by the IndiaTech Foundation in association with the Maharashtra government on Friday, further said: "Maharashtra has received the Central government's clearance on its labour reforms proposal. We have resolved to push through these reforms."
Earlier, PowerGrid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) chairman and managing director R P Singh, while emphasising upon the need for developing a national grid to ensure uninterrupted power supply across the country, said that a total investment of Rs 80,000 crore would be required for the purpose.
"PGCIL would contribute Rs 50,000 crore on its own, while the balance Rs 30,000 crore would have to be raised through private sector participation. The National Grid will also effectively tackle the risk of grid collapse which is prevalent in the country in view of the non availability of such a countrywide grid," he said.
Singh said that PGCIL, which is the natural monopoly in the transmission sector, is poised to increase its present capacity of 5,000 mw to 30,000 mw by 2012 to be sent from one region to another.
He also stressed the need for a co-ordinated efforts of the South Asian Association of Regional Countries nations in harnessing the natural resources optimally and trading the same to mitigate the energy shortages and boost economic growth of the participating countries.
"The benefits of bilateral co-operation in the energy sector have been demonstrated through limited energy exchanges between the Indian power system and that of Nepal and Bhutan. Power generated from Chukka project is being exported to India resulting in a revenue of $40 million to Bhutan, which is about 50 per cent of Bhutan's annual budget," he added.
Nepal was also importing power from India besides also exporting it to a number of points in India. "The proposed national grid can offer an infrastructure through which power generated from the hydro, gas and the coal resources of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh can be wheeled and transferred. However, to make this happen, a task force or committee should be formed to formulate policies, operating codes and other legal and commercial aspects, institutional frameworks evolving a security mechanism for payment and political uncertainties," Singh said.
