Delhi-Mumbai corridor okayed

Decks have been cleared for the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor project after the Union cabinet approved the 1,483-km project, reports Gaurav Choudhury.

Decks have been cleared for the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor (DMIC) project after the Union cabinet on Thursday approved the 1,483-km project that would include six mega investment regions of 200 square kilometres each.

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The DMIC project will run through Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, and be built along the proposed Delhi-Mumbai dedicated rail freight corridor.

As reported in the Hindustan Times on Monday, in the first phase the DMIC would have six specifically delineated investment regions planned for manufacturing facilities for domestic and export-led production along with associated services and infrastructure.

A corporate entity, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) would be formed to undertake planning of the project, development of its various components, coordinating with all stakeholders, monitoring of implementation and raising all finances.

These investment regions are: Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh; Manesar-Bawal in Haryana, Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemra in Rajasthan, Pitampura-Dhar-Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, Bharuch-Dahej in Gujarat and Igatpuri-Nashik-Sinnar in Maharashtra. The minimum processing area in these regions is likely to be about 40 per cent of the total designated area, which may or may not be contiguous.

Work on the DMIC is expected to commence in 2008 and an estimated $90 billion to $100 billion would be required to create the infrastructure in the first phase of the project. Japanese companies, particularly small and medium enterprises, are expected to invest over $10 billion in the proposed corridor during the first phase.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled to visit India later this month and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between India and Japan for establishing the DMIC in December 2006 during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the far-eastern country.

Each investment region would be a green field or a brown field area having a combination of production units, public utilities, logistics, environmental protection facilties, residential areas, social infrastructure and administrative services.

In addition to the investment regions, the DMIC will also have six industrial areas of 100 square kilometers each.

The DMIC project would be overseen by an apex steering authority, headed by the finance minister and would have concerned central ministers and state chief ministers as members.