Rs42,000 crore worth SEZ investments on the anvil for Gujarat

Around a dozen new Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are likely to come up in the state in the next few years which will attract investment of more than Rs42,000 crore, senior government officials said.

According to officials, a number of developers have proposed to set up SEZs in the state. This includes Sealand Ports, which has proposed a multi-product SEZ at Kutch which would attract investment of Rs14,700 crore.

According to officials, a number of developers have proposed to set up SEZs in the state. This includes Sealand Ports Private Limited, which has proposed a multi-product SEZ at Kutch which would attract investment of Rs14,700 crore.

Makson Group has proposed two SEZs, which would attract investment of more than Rs14,100 crore. However, one of its projects is yet to be approved. Similarly, Avash Logistic Park
has proposed a Free Trade Warehousing Zone at Kutch, which would attract Rs4,400 crore investment.

"Buoyancy of the state's economy is what is primarily attracting SEZ developers to Gujarat. The SEZs will not only attract large amounts of investments, but will also create thousands of jobs for locals," said officials.

The officials, however, accepted that many of these projects are in the initial stage, and it may be a few years before they take-off. They also conceded that some of the projects may not even materialise.

Among other companies, Solargise has proposed investment of Rs2,500 crore for a SEZ, which may come up in north Gujarat. However, the proposal is yet to be formally approved. Similarly, Anique Infrastructure has proposed a SEZ which would attract Rs1,800 crore investment.

Plastene Infrastructure, Gujarat (Bhal) Construction, Myron Realtors and Cargo Motors are the other developers that have proposed SEZs in the state.

In addition to the new projects, existing SEZs in the state are also likely to attract investments of more than Rs20,000 crore.
According to officials, Dahej SEZ, being developed by ONGC and GIDC, is expected to attract fresh investment of Rs10,000 crore over the next couple of years.

Adani Group's Mundra SEZ, the country's first port-based multi-product SEZ, and JB SEZ, a pharma SEZ at Panoli in Bharuch, are expected to attract fresh investments.

More investments will also flow into The Gem & Jewellery Park SEZ at Ichhapore in Surat. The Synefra SEZ and Chervil IT SEZ in Vadodara are also expected to attract more investments over the next couple of years.

Many SEZ projects shelved

• In recent past DLF, Essar, SPG, N Vittal have scrapped their SEZ plans.
• Even as there is a rush for setting up new Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Gujarat, quite a few SEZ projects, which were announced with much fanfare, have been shelved in the last one year or so.
• The DLF Group, the country's largest real estate developer, withdrew plans to develop an IT/ITes SEZ in Gandhinagar. The Essar Group, which had developed a sector-specific SEZ at Hazira, Surat, also opted for de-notification of the special economic zone.
• Strength Real Estate Private Limited, which was developing an IT/ITeS SEZ in Vadodara, also dropped plans in the wake of global recession and other reasons.
• SPG Group, which had announced plans to set up an engineering SEZ in Kutch, also withdrew plans. The plans to develop Gujarat Vittal Innovation City (GVIC) Ltd, a multi-product SEZ, by former vigilance commissioner, N Vittal are also learnt to have been dropped.
• The Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), which has developed seven SEZs in the state, is also eyeing de-notification of its Apparel SEZs in Ahmedabad and Surat, on account of lack of interest for setting up units. The GIDC has also scaled down size of its Handicraft SEZ in Kutch from 101 hectare to 15 hectare.