Industrial smart cities could host specific industry clusters with Agra targetting to attract EVs and Gaya looking at food processing
India is trying to get specific industries to its industrial smart cities to develop clusters of manufacturing like Detroit is for motor industry in the US and Manchester was for cotton in the UK, Moneycontrol has learnt.
UP's industrial smart city Agra is being targeted as Electric Vehicle and Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) hubs, while Palakkad in Kerala will develop into a medicinal and botanical cluster.
On the other hand, the government is trying to address employment situation in Bihar, with Gaya expected to focus on industries like food processing, light engineering and hospitality.
Industrial smart cities closer to the port, like Dighi and Krishnapatnam, are to focus on port activities.
“Dighi and Krishnapatnam will be big examples of port-led industrialisation and industry-led urbanisation. Dighi would be decongesting Mumbai. It will become an urban hub and will also promote ecotourism,” said Rajat Kumar Saini, EO and Managing Director (MD) of the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC).
Last week, the Prime Minister inaugurated the Bidkin industrial area in Maharashtra, which is attracting investments from auto majors like Toyota and EV companies like Ather Energy.
Saini noted that the projects have been mapped with PM Gatishakti for location optimality.
On August 29, the Cabinet gave a green light to 12 new smart cities.
The tenders for the construction of these 12 centres are likely to be floated by December, and construction is expected to begin by March 2025.
The government has already obtained environmental clearance for these projects to fast-track the process.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal had noted that 12 industrial smart cities could create 3-7 million jobs and attract at least Rs 1.5 lakh crore in investment.
The ministry had noted that the project is likely to be ready by 2027.
Growing investor interest
Moneycontrol had earlier noted that smart cities are generating significant interest from countries as well, with the government looking east to attract investment.
“We are vying for Singapore and Japan to collaborate with us on the project, urging firms to set up operations in industrial smart cities,” the official had said.
The government is also trying to woo investors from European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, with which it had earlier this year signed a trade and economic partnership agreement.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Ishaan Gera
Quelle/Source: money control, 01.10.2024
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