Stalled Navi Mumbai SEZ project to now be an industrial city

The project failed to take off owing to several reasons, including policy and taxation changes.

The stalled Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project, to be spread across 5,300 acres, will now be promoted as an industrial city.

Picture for representation

The project, which was to be jointly developed by the Reliance Group, Jai Corp, SKIL Infrastructure and City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco), failed to take off owing to several reasons, including policy and taxation changes.

“The Cidco board cleared the proposal for the industrial city, while keeping the ratio of industry vis-a-vis residential component the same at 80: 20. The only difference is that the industrial units within the project need not be export-oriented, as is mandatory in an SEZ,” said a senior bureaucrat.

This proposal will now move to the cabinet for a final clearance. Post clearance, the developer will have to move to the SEZ board to seek denotification as a trade enclave.

In September last year, the government had sought additional time from the SEZ board to resolve regulatory issues pertaining to the NMSEZ, as it had run out of extensions and would have faced denotification.

In 2013, the state had refused to allow the conversion of the SEZ into Integrated Industrial Areas (IIA), as that would have allowed developers to exploit nearly 40 per cent of the area for real estate.