Source: Business Standard
While Krishnapatnam and Tumakuru, part of the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC), are being developed as smart cities, Nangal Chaudhary and Greater Noida, under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), are upcoming logistics and multimodal hubs, Rajat Saini, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) of the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC), told Business Standard.
Through the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, the government wants to develop industrial cities as “smart cities”, converging next-generation technologies across infrastructure sectors.
NICDC, which is in charge of the programme, is responsible for the planning of 11 industrial corridors identified by the government and building 32 futuristic industrial cities, which can compete with the best manufacturing and investment destinations in the world. Of the 32, four greenfield industrial smart cities have been developed under DMIC.
The 11 corridors will have smart cities, industrial towns, and logistics parks, and will develop dedicated freight corridors, improve road and highway networks, expand railway infrastructure, and reduce transportation bottlenecks.
“Our planning includes identifying two things — supply and demand of industry infrastructure and gaps in infrastructure,” Saini told Business Standard in an interview.
Sources said the government expected an average investment of Rs 25,000-30,000 crore each in the next lot of 10-11 industrial smart cities that are in the pipeline. Its own investment will be Rs 1,500-2,000 crore each.
Under the DMIC, 10 projects including industrial towns, investment regions and logistics parks have been planned.
The Dholera Special Investment Region, Shendra Bidkin Industrial Area (Maharashtra), Integrated Industrial Township (Greater Noida), and Integrated Industrial Township (Madhya Pradesh) are the four greenfield industrial smart cities that have been developed.
“All the four cities have received a tremendous response. As of now, 288 plots, covering 1,553 acres, have been allotted, mobilising around Rs 23,000 crore,” Saini said.
As many as 55 units, including Hyosung, Perkins, Amul, NLMK, Fuji Silvertech, and J-world, have started commercial production while construction is underway in around 60 companies. Additionally, a huge chunk of developed land parcels for multisectoral uses are available for allotment.
Land parcels with “plug n play infrastructure” are available for immediate allotment at these four locations.
For other corridors, project development activities are under different stages of preparedness.
According to Saini, blanket environment clearances have been obtained for the four cities, and that helps to expedite setting up industries and quicken the production process.
