SEZs and Industrial Corridors of India
SEZ
The SEZ Corridor is an emerging corridor implementing a number of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) along the Grand Southern Trunk Road (NH 45) in Chennai. Started with the establishment of the Madras Export Processing Zone in 1984 (converted to a SEZ in 2003), the SEZ corridor currently has 5 operational SEZs and over 10 approved projects in development. The GST Road is widely made use of for SEZ projects due to its connectivity with various means of transport by road, rail and air. This is evident by the presence of the Chennai International Airport, various railway stations parallel to the road, and also it’s connectivity to the complex road network of the National Highways Authority of India.
A number of SEZ projects has emerged in this stretch, making it the SEZ corridor of Chennai. It includes MEPZ SEZ established in 1984, Mahindra World City, New Chennai, Shriram Properties’s Gateway SEZ, Estancia SEZ and ETL Infrastructure. It is also emerging as a major IT SEZ region with a number of huge investments by Infosys. Infosys has set up its largest development center in Mahindra SEZ while India Land Tech Park is developing a massive 500-acre (2.0 km2) SEZ which is estimated to have 20,900,000 sq ft (1,940,000 m2) office space for both IT and Electronics use. Shriram The Gateway SEZ, is an integrated township with IT/ITeS SEZ residential and mall, which is also home for IT majors like Accenture, ReDIM Information Systems and EISL is an IT/ITES SEZ by ETL Infrastructure at Chengalpattu on 260 acres (1.1 km2).
Industrial corridors
Industrial Corridor refers to a set of infrastructural spending allocated to a specific geographical area, with the aim of stimulating industrial development. An industrial corridor aims to crease an area with a cluster of manufacturing or other industry.
The major Indian Industrial Corridors are:
- Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC);
- Bengaluru- Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC);
- Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC);
- Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) and
- Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC)
Government of India has identified, planned and launched five industrial corridor projects under Make in India Campaign in the Union Budget of 2014-2015, to provide an impetus to industrialisation and planned urbanisation. In each of these corridors, manufacturing is key economic driver and these projects are seen as critical in raising the share of manufacturing in India’s Gross Domestic Product from the current levels of to to by 2022. A National Industrial Corridor Development Authority (NICDA) is being established to converge and integrate the development of all industrial corridors.
Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)
The DMIC project was launched in pursuance of an MOU signed between the Government of India and the Government of Japan in December 2006. DMIC Development Corporation (DMICDC) incorporated in 2008, and it is the implementing agency for the project. DMICDC has been registered as a company with 49% equity of Government of India, 26% equity of the JBIC and the remaining held by government financial institutions. The Japanese Government had also announced financial support for DMIC project to an extent of USD 4.5 Billion in the first phase for the projects with Japanese participation involving cutting-edge technology.
Bengaluru- Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC)
The Bengaluru-Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC) spreaded across the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka is a proposed economic corridor in India between Mumbai and Bangalore. The Indian government aims to generate an investment over ₹3 lakh crore (US$45 billion) from this corridor and expects it to create 2.5 million jobs.
Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor(CBIC)
The mega infrastructural plan of Chennai – Bengaluru Industrial Corridor aims to come up along Chennai, Sriperumbudur, Ponnapanthangal, Ranipet, Chittoor, Bangarupalem, Palamaner, Bangarpet, Hoskote and Bangalore. It is expected to boost commerce between south India and East Asia by enabling quicker movement of goods from these places to the Chennai and Ennore ports.
Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC)
With Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor, four nodes namely Vishakhapatnam, Kakinada, Gannavaram-Kankipadu and Srikalahasti-Yerpedu of Andhra Pradesh have been identified for development. This new industrial corridor is expected to spur growth by augmenting existing investment in world-class transport networks, infrastructure, and industrial and urban clusters.
Greater connectivity and economic integration between South Asia and the rest of Asia is likely to contribute significantly to development and foster regional cooperation as well. VCIC will create employment opportunities that alleviate poverty and reduce inequality.
Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC)
Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) project is structured around the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) and also the highway systems that exist on this route. The Project intends to facilitate development of a well-planned and resource efficient industrial base served by world class sustainable infrastructure, bringing significant benefits in terms of innovation, manufacturing, job creation and resource security to states coming within its Influence Region.