Punekars may soon heave a sigh of relief as the Metro passenger services from Garware College to Ruby Hall Clinic and Phugewadi to Civil Court at Shivajinagar may become operational on 1 August.
Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro) officials are hoping that both stretches will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 August when he will be visiting Pune to receive the Lokmanya Tilak award.
The Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) completed the final inspection of two crucial metro stretches last week and is expected to give safety compliance certificate in this week that will validate safety and reliability norms of metro service on the two sections, paving the way for launch of commercial operations.
Pune Metro Project
Pune Metro Rail Project consists of two corridors, north-south corridor (Purple line) and east-west corridor (Aqua line), with a total length of 33.2 km and 30 stations.
Pune Metro Map
The 17.5-km-long north-south (NS) corridor from PCMC to Swargate has 14 stations. It passes through the industrial area of Pimpri-Chinchwad and further into old Peth areas of the Pune city.
The north-south corridor includes a 11.4-km-long elevated stretch and a 6.1-km underground section between Range Hills and Swargate.
The fully elevated East-West (EW) corridor starts from Vanaz Depot in east and goes upto Ramwadi. There are a total of 16 stations on this stretch and total length of this corridor is 15.7 km.
Pune Metro has two maintenance depots for up keep of trains. The depot on NS corridor at Range Hills is named as Range Hills car depot and the depot on EW corridor at Vanaz is named as Hill View Park car depot.
It was in 2022 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated two stretches – one from PCMC headquarters in Pimpri to Phugewadi on NS corridor and the other from Vanaz to Garware college on the EW corridor.
New Area on Metro Map
The new section between Phugewadi and Civil Court station is 6.9 km long having four stations. When the inauguration of Phugewadi- Civil Court stretch, the trains will run from Pimpri to Civil Court on the NS Corridor.
The Garware College to Ruby Hall Clinic station section is 4.7 km long with seven stations with some of them being underground.
The new sections connect the important places of the city like Shivajinagar, Civil Court, Pune Municipal Corporation office, Pune RTO and Pune Railway Station.
Maha-Metro officials said that the remaining sections between Ruby Hall Clinic station and Ramwadi station and Civil Court station to Swargate station will be completed by December 2023.
The detailed project report for the proposed Metro rail from Vatika Chowk to Pachgaon in Gurugram, will be prepared by the RITES, announced Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation (HMRTC) chairman Sanjeev Kaushal.
The chief secretary was speaking during the 53rd meeting of the board of directors of HMRTC in Chandigarh on Monday (24 July), and termed it as a major step towards enhancing public transportation infrastructure.
During the meeting, Kaushal informed the board members that Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) had been designated as the consultant for the Metro line from Vatika Chowk to Pachgaon.
He also said that the length of the corridor will be 30 km.
Notably, RITES is also conducting the techno-feasibility study for the proposed Metro extension from Ballabhgarh to Palwal in Faridabad, covering a distance of approximately 25 km.
Three Metro Links
The Metro line from Vatika Chowk on Sohna Road to Pachgaon in Manesar is one of the three Metro links in Gurugram, that will be taken up for work in the ongoing fiscal.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar while presenting the state budget for 2023-24 had announced that work on three metro links — Rezangla chowk to the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, Southern Peripheral Road through Global City to Pachgaon in Manesar, and extension of Bahadurgarh Metro up to Asaudha to connect with the Haryana Orbital Rail Network and Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway — will be taken up in 2023-2024.
HUDA City Centre To Cyber City Metro
Earlier in June 2023, the union cabinet approved the extension of the Metro network from HUDA City Centre to Cyber City in Gurgaon, a stretch of 28.5 km, with 27 new stations to be built over the next four years at an estimated cost of Rs 5,452.7 crore.
The main corridor, from HUDA City Centre to Cyber City, would be 26.65 km in length with 26 stations, while 1.85-km spur with one station will connect Basai Village to Dwarka Expressway.
To be implemented by the HMRTCL, the project is proposed to be completed in four years from the date of sanction.
The metro line aims to connect Old Gurgaon with New Gurgaon, along with a link to the Indian Railways. The next phase will connect the network with Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
A total of five airports in Maharashtra which were leased to the financially distressed Anil Ambani’s Reliance group, will be taken back by the state government.
This was announced by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the state assembly on Friday (21 July), while responding to the issue of regional connectivity.
The Maharashtra government had awarded five airports — Baramati, Nanded, Latur, Yavatmal, and Osmanabad to Reliance Airport Developers Private Limited (RADPL), a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure led by Anil Ambani, for 30 years in 2009.
RADPL had emerged as the highest bidder, securing the project for all five airports with a bid of Rs 63 crore in an auction conducted by the previous Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government in 2009 to enhance air connectivity in Maharashtra.
All of them are non-functional currently and the decision to take them back has been taken due to poor maintenance and non-payment of statutory dues.
“RADPL is not doing maintenance of the airports and even not paying the statutory dues because of which Nanded airport was shut down. We will discuss the legalities of taking possession of the airports with the advocate general. The state government will also pay all the dues for the five airports and recover the amount from the firm,” said Fadnavis.
The government is planning to set up a dedicated authority for efficient airport management, Fadnavis said. A decision on this matter is expected within the next three months, he added.
A total of 11 firms, from both India and abroad, have evinced interest in building the proposed pod taxi project connecting the Noida International Airport in Jewar to Sector-21 Film City.
The pre-bid meeting on Wednesday (19 July) organised by the Uttar Pradesh state government evoked good response, with participation from PRT UK, Larsen &Toubro, Systra France, Ultra PRT, Siemens, Tata, IRB Infrastructure, Intamin Transportation (Switzerland), Hyundai, Kalpataru and Invest India.
The queries of prospective bidders pertaining to extension of the date for the global tender, sharing of profit, and grant status in the project were discussed at length in the meeting.
Officials from Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) which is executing the project, assured to look into the queries put-forth at the meeting and present their response soon.
The meeting was conducted as a sequel to the global ‘Request For Proposal’ floated by the authority on 1 July for the state-of-the-art pod taxi system from Jewar International Airport to Film City.
The deadline to submit preliminary bids is 10 August and technical bids will be opened on 16 August.
PRT System
Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is a state-of-the-art form of public transport (PT) that uses small, automated electric ‘pod cars’ to provide a taxi-like service for individuals or small groups of travellers.
The pod cars run on a segregated guideway in order to ensure unhindered direct trips between origin and destination.
With high vehicle speeds and very small headways, PRT provides fast, individual, on-demand and point-to-point PT with very short waiting times.
The Project
Earlier in March 2021, the authority had engaged Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation Limited, a central government agency, to devise a detailed project report (DPR) for the pod taxi project.
After some modifications, the authority approved the final DPR in May 2023.
The alignment of PRT starts from crossroad of Sector-20 and Sector-21 along the 100-m-wide road and has 12 stations en-route till it reaches Jewar International Airport.
Jewar Airport-Film city PRT System Alignment
The 14.6-km-long project will be executed at an estimated cost of Rs 641.53 crore on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis.
The authority will enter into a concession agreement with the concessionaire for 35 years, for operation and maintenance of the PRT system, including two years for the construction of the PRT system.
The pod taxi connectivity will not only provide non-stop transport link with film city from international airport, but also provide connectivity to various sectors like Sector-21, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34 and 35.
The pod taxi project is planned for completion by 2024, coinciding with the launch of the first phase of the Noida airport.
The National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) executing the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) has awarded the last civil package for the 135-kilometre stretch between Shilphata in Thane district and Zaroli village on the Maharashtra-Gujarat Border.
The contract has been awarded to Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which is said to have placed the lowest bid at Rs 15,697 crore.
Technically referred to as C3, the alignment of the package includes 124 km of viaduct and bridges, and seven tunnels of which six are mountain tunnels. Additionally the scope of work includes construction of three elevated stations, namely, Thane, Virar and Boisar.
It will also include bridges on Ulhas River, Vaitarna and Jagani, with the 2.28 km bridge over Vaitarana being the longest bridge of the MAHSR Project.
“NHSRCL awards the last civil package (C3) having 135 km of Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR (high speed rail) alignment including seven tunnels and longest bridge of two km over Vaitarna river in the state of Maharashtra,” the body said in a press release.
With this, all three civil packages of Maharashtra portion — construction of Mumbai (BKC) HSR station (C1), 21 km of tunnel including 7 km undersea tunnel (C2) and 135 km of alignment (C3) — of MAHSR corridor have been awarded, it added.
11 Civil Packages
With the award of C3 package, all the 11 civil packages of the 508-km-long Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project are now awarded.
The eleven civil packages between them have 465-km-long viaducts, 12 high speed rail stations, three rolling stock depots, 28 steel bridges comprising 10 km of viaduct, 24 river bridges, nine tunnels, including a 7-km-long India’s first undersea tunnel.
The first civil contract for the construction of 237 km viaducts including 4 HSR stations (Vapi, Bilimora, Surat and Bharuch) and Surat rolling stock depot in Gujarat was awarded on 28 October 2020, which was also thelargest civil contract awarded in India.
The last civil contract of 135 km viaduct with 3 HSR stations (Thane, Virar and Boisar) in Maharashtra was awarded on 19 July 2023.
The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet train project has been divided into 28 contract packages, out of which 11 are civil packages, which were awarded in a span of 33 months.
This mega infrastructure project is expected to consume 1.6 crore cubic metres of cement and 17 lakh MT of steel and act as a catalyst to give the cement and steel industries a boost, NHSRCL added.
Other Major Contracts
Apart from civil work, the tenders for track works for the complete MAHSR section in Gujarat — 352 km out of total 508 km — have also been awarded.
Earlier in June 2023, the NHSRCL floated rolling stock tender for supply of 24 bullet trains worth Rs 11,000 crore for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor.
According to the JICA loan conditions, only Japanese manufacturers such as Kawasaki and Hitachi can participate in the bid. The bids can be submitted by October-end this year.
Based on Japan’s E5 Shinkansen technology, the bullet train will have 10 coaches only and the first train is expected to arrive before 2027 so that it can be operationalised between Vapi and Sabarmati in Gujarat in 2027.
A total of 23,173 kilometre of natural gas pipelines, including spur lines, are operational in the country and another 12,206 kilometre length of pipeline is under various stages of construction.
This information was provided by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, while replying to a question in Lok Sabha on 20 July.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), which is the regulator for gas pipeline infrastructure, has authorised the development of 33,592 km natural gas pipeline network in the country.
The pipeline projects are being implemented by various entities including oil companies as per the authorisation by PNGRB. All natural gas pipelines are part of the ‘Gati Shakti National Master Plan’.
Under-Construction Projects
The Minister in his reply also furnished target dates for the completion of various natural gas pipeline network under implementation.
Kakinada-Vizag-Srikakulam: This natural gas pipeline in Andhra Pradesh, which is being executed by Andhra Pradesh Gas Distribution Corporation, will be completed by June 2024.
Kakinada-Vijayawada-Nellore: This pipeline, in Andhra Pradesh which has been allotted to IMC Limited, is to be completed by March, 2024.
Srikakulam-Angul: The 744-km-long pipeline project from Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh to Angul in Odisha via Ganjam, Nayagarh, Khordha, Cuttack, and Dhenkanal is to be completed by July 2023.
Ennore-Nellore: The pipeline connecting Chennai’s northern suburb of Ennore to Nellore in Andhra Pradesh was scheduled to be completed by April 2020, but is currently stalled due to litigation.
North-East Natural Gas Pipeline Grid: The 1,656-km-long North-East gas grid, will cater to eight states of Northeastern India in a phased manner.Being executed by Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited — a joint venture company of five central public sector enterprises, namely, IOCL, Oil India Ltd, Numaligarh Refineries, ONGC, and GAIL — the entire project is targeted to be completed by 31 March 2024.
Kanai-Chhata-Panitar Pipeline: Being developed by Hooghly Pipelines Private Limited, a subsidiary of H-Energy, the natural gas pipeline from Haldia to Panitar is to be completed by September 2023.
Mumbai-Nagpur-Jharsuguda: The 1755-km-long ambitious project, encompassing vast geographical areas across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Odisha is under the advanced stage of completion and has sought an extension till 30 October 2024.
Jamnagar-Dwarka: The pipeline between Jamnagar and Dwarka in Gujarat will be completed by August 2024.
The 33,592 kilometre pipeline network will create a national gas grid in the country and help increase the share of natural gas in the primary energy mix to 15 per cent in 2030, from about 6.3 per cent currently.
Foxconn Industrial Internet (Fii), the subsidiary of Taiwanese firm Foxconn, on 17 July made a proposal to set up a plant at Tumakuru in Karnataka with an investment outlay of Rs 8,800 crore.
The proposal to establish the plant at Japan Industrial Township in Tumakuru, is the latest in the string of such big-ticket projects being established in these exclusive townships.
Japan Industrial Township or JITs are a hallmark of Indo-Japan economic collaboration and an enduring legacy of Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, who shared a personal bond with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
Background
Japan is currently one of the largest investors in India, having made cumulative investment of $38.13 billion as of September 2022, with a total of about 1,455 Japanese companies operating across the country.
The island country was the fifth largest investor for India in FY2021, with investments made in key sectors such as automobiles, Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM), medical devices, consumer goods, textiles, food processing and chemicals.
Further, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his March 2022 visit had announced plans to invest “five trillion yen” ($42 billion) in India in the next five years.
Seen in the context of the positive trend of Japanese investment, Japan Industrial Townships (JITs) have been envisaged to allow Japanese companies to smoothly establish production and operate their business in India.
Policy Groundwork
The groundwork for JITs was laid during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first state visit to Japan in August-September 2014.
The Tokyo Declaration issued after the joint meeting, announced the “Japan-India Investment Promotion Partnership” under which the two Prime Ministers shared the intention to develop “Japan Industrial Townships”.
Subsequently, in 2015, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) from Indian side, the and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) signed the ‘Action Agenda for the India-Japan Investment and Trade Promotion and Asia-Pacific Economic Integration’, pursuant to which the development of JITs commenced in India.
As per the agreement, India is required to develop business environments and provide incentives.
Further, the investment incentives for companies in JITs would be at par with ‘Special Economic Zones’ (SEZs) and ‘National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZ)’ with both India and Japan providing special packages for attracting Japanese investment into JITs.
Twelve In Number
Presently, more than 110 Japanese companies are operating in an aggregate of 12 JITs set up across nine states.
12 JITs in India
These include Neemrana and Ghiloth in Rajasthan, Sri City in Andhra Pradesh, Mandal Industrial Part in Gujarat, OneHub Chennai, Origins and Sojitz-Motherson Industrial Park in Tamil Nadu, Supa Japanese Industrial Park in Maharashtra, Tumkur (officially renamed as Tumakuru) in Karnataka, Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, Jhajjar in Haryana and Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh.
The centre was planning to set up the 13th JIT at Nagarbera in Assam, However, nothing has moved in the proposed industrial township which was promoted by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
Apparently, Japanese companies are not interested in setting up companies in the land provided at Nagarbera, and as such, the project remains stalled.
How It Works
The JITs are ready to move in facilities with fully developed land available for allotment in these townships. Further, the State government develops state-of-the-art infrastructure for Japanese companies to set up their business in these townships.
A cluster of incentives in subsidies and reimbursements related to financial investment, land-related charges, taxes, duties and employment generation are provided to Japanese companies if they set up operations in these townships.
For instance, a JIT at Neemrana Industrial Park, Rajasthan, offers a capital subsidy of 25 per cent of the investment made on plant and machinery, up to $70,000. Similarly, it also offers employment generation subsidy in the form of reimbursement of 50 per cent of employers’ contribution towards Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) for a period of seven years
As a step towards investor facilitation and investment promotion, these townships have also established virtual “Japan Desk” which provides customized solutions to Japanese investors, addresses investor queries and provides handholding support during project implementation stage.
Success Story
Of the 12 JITs under implementation, the Neemrana and Sri City industrial townships have a major success with both of them housing a majority of the Japanese companies.
Companies such as Daikin, Isuzu, Kobelco, Yamaha Music, Hitachi Automotive etc. are the marque Japanese investors which have set up manufacturing in these townships.
Up north, the Japan Industrial Township at Jhajjar, also known as Model Economic Township (MET) City at present, houses four leading Japanese firms including Panasonic, Denso, T-Suzuki and Nihon Kohden.
The MET City facility of Nihon Kohden — Japan’s leading inventor, manufacturer, developer and distributor of medical equipment and devices – is the company’s largest manufacturing facility in India.
Similarly, the JIT at Vasanthanarasapura in Tumakuru district along the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) is steadily making good progress and has emerged as an alternative investment site for Japanese businesses looking to set up manufacturing bases away from China.
Located about 90 km from Bengaluru, the township is already home to some of the biggest Japanese manufacturers such as Kirloskar Toyota Textile Machinery Pvt Ltd.
Foxconn’s Tumakuru proposal which involves setting up of a state-of-the-art facility for manufacturing screens, outer coverings and mechanical components needed for phones, if agreed upon, would bring in an investment of Rs 8,800 crore to the state and generate 14,000 jobs.
What Lies Ahead
As things stand, Japan is the only country that has dedicated country-focused industrial townships across India. This speaks volume of the strength of the bilateral ties and importance of Japanese investment in the Indian economy.
JITs established with the general intent of optimising investments in India by Japanese investors, have helped them benefit from the availability of a young work-force in comparison to the ageing work-force in Japan, while boosting manufacturing activities in India.
What’s needed now is to do an exhaustive assessment of the scheme taking into consideration influencing factors like cluster of incentives, ease of obtaining approvals, availability of skilled labour and other similar considerations to further the Japanese presence in India.
The Adani Group is building the world’s largest hybrid renewable energy park right in the middle of a desert, in Khavda, Gujarat.
The announcement was made by the founder and chairman of the group, Gautam Adani on Tuesday (18 July) while addressing shareholders at Adani Enterprises’ annual general meeting.
Spread over 72,000 acres, the park will produce 20 GW of green energy, once operational. The project will be developed by Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), the renewable energy arm of the diversified Adani portfolio.
Elaborating on the plans to build the hybrid power bank, Adani said, “It will be the most complex and ambitious project that we have ever executed. And we intend to build it faster than any project in our execution history”.
The hybrid power plant harnesses the potential of renewable energy by resolving intermittency of the generation and provides a more reliable solution to meet the rising power demand. This is done by deploying cutting-edge technologies to harness the power of the sun and enable cost effective power extraction from the wind resources.
World’s Largest Solar-Wind Producer
Earlier during FY 022-23, the group operationalized 2.14 GW solar-wind hybrid plants in Rajasthan, India’s first and world’s largest solar-wind hybrid cluster.
The hybrid cluster consists of four plants having a capacity of 390 MW, 600 MW, 450 MW and 700 MW respectively. All three of these hybrid energy generation assets are located in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
With this, AGEL’s operating wind-solar hybrid portfolio has now reached 2,140 MW, continuing to be the largest in the world.
The newly operationalized solar-wind hybrid portfolio of 2,140 MW deploys latest technologies like bifacial solar PV modules and horizontal single-axis tracking (HSAT) technology to capture maximum energy from the sun as well as technologically advanced wind turbine generators leading to a high hybrid capacity utilisation factor (CUF) of 35.5 per cent.
The Adani group is committed to completing key infrastructure projects in Mumbai, founder and chairman of the group, Gautam Adani said on Tuesday (18 July) while addressing shareholders at Adani Enterprises’ annual general meeting.
In the financial capital Mumbai, Gautam Adani is sitting on three key projects, including the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP); the Navi Mumbai International Airport, and the power distribution business.
Questions have been raised about the future of these multi-billion projects helmed by the Adani group, ever since Hindenburg Research accused the port-to-power conglomerate of stock manipulation and accounting fraud in a 24 January report.
Navi Mumbai International Airport
The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is on track to open for air traffic by December 2024, said Gautam Adani during his AGM speech.
NMIA, which will be the second airport in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), will address the capacity constraints at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Construction Work At NMIA Site
The new airport would shake up the demand-supply dynamics by adding 40 per cent more passenger handling capacity overnight to the MMR region.
The project is being implemented by Navi Mumbai International Airport Limited (NMIAL), which is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with equity participation of Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited and CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation), in 74:26 ratio.
The project scope includes development of an international airport (in phases) with a capacity to handle minimum 60 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and 1.5 million tonnes cargo per annum. In the initial phase, capacity of 20 million passengers per annum and 800,000 tons per annum of cargo handling capacity is being planned.
Power Distribution
In his speech to the shareholders, Gautam Adani said that Adani Transmission would transform Mumbai into the first mega city in the world to achieve over 50 per cent — at 60 per cent — power from renewable sources like solar and wind.
Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL) is India’s largest private power distribution company and the transmission arm of the diversified Adani Group. ATL is responsible for bulk power procurement for distribution in Mumbai region by its B2C, or business-to-consumer arm, Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited (AEML).
“I am also very pleased to state that ATL’s Mumbai distribution business achieved reliability of 99.99 per cent and was ranked the No.1 discom by the Union Ministry of Power,” he added.
The Adani group entered power distribution in Mumbai suburbs four years ago with the Rs 18,000-crore acquisition of the beleaguered Anil Ambani Group-run Reliance Energy and competes with Tata Power in the business.
Dharavi Redevelopment
Dharavi, which is located on the northernmost tip of Mumbai’s island city, is one of the biggest slums on the planet — and a key backdrop for the popular film Slumdog Millionaire.
A series of renewal projects are underway in Mumbai, including the Bhendi Bazaar and Dharavi Redevelopment Project. (Johnny Miller Photographs).
The Dharavi revamp that seeks to transform Asia’s second-largest slum cluster will be a key challenge for the beleaguered group.
Earlier on 13 July, the Maharashtra Housing Department had granted final approval for the appointment of Adani Properties for the redevelopment of Dharavi.
The approval comes eight months since Adani Realty, the real estate arm of the ports-to-power conglomerate, was declared the highest bidder for the ambitious redevelopment project.
In November 2022, the Adani group had emerged as the highest bidder for the redevelopment project with an initial investment commitment of Rs 5,069 crore, against a base price of Rs 1,600 crore.
Adani Realty will get seven years to see the work through, including rehabilitating more than 56,000 families. The project is estimated to cost around Rs 23,000 crore.
The scope of the redevelopment will span 2.8 sq km and about 68,000 slum dwellers and those running commercial enterprises will be resettled.
According to the terms of the tender, the proposed completion period for construction of the rehabilitation facilities, renewal, amenities and infrastructure is seven years from the date of the commencement certificate for the first phase of the project.
While the group’s plans for Navi Mumbai airport and power distribution does not have much trouble going forward, Adani’s ability to complete the Dharavi project is under scanner. If successful, Adani would gain a major foothold in India’s financial capital, where he already runs one of the country’s busiest airports.
In a major boost for cotton growers in Vidarbha, the Pradhan Mantri Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) park at Amravati in Maharashtra was formally launched on Sunday (16 July).
The park, funded by the central government, will come up on the land provided by Maharashtra Industries Development Corporation (MIDC). A textile park, which has been developed by the MIDC is already located nearby.
The PM-MITRA Park is located adjacent to the additional Amravati Industrial Area and is situated just 30 kilometre away from the Mumbai Nagpur Samruddhi Highway and 147 kilometre from the nearest port, the Wardha Dry Port.
Amravati Textile Park is expected to attract an investment of Rs 10,000 crore and create both direct and indirect employment for approximately 300,000 individuals.
During the event, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the MIDC, Government of Maharashtra, and the Union Ministry of Textiles for the establishment of PM-MITRA Park.
Plug-N-Play
The entire infrastructure will be set up by the government, opening it for investors to simply start their units in the area.
For example, a central effluent treatment plant is an integral part of any textile hub. In this case, it would be directly set up by the government. In a conventional industries hub, much of the related amenities have to be created by the investors themselves.
The prestigious textile park was launched by Union Minister of Textiles, Piyush Goyal in the presence of Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
“The well-connected infrastructure of Amravati, including its road, rail, port, and airport networks, will significantly boost the textile industry in Maharashtra,” said Goyal.
PM-MITRA Scheme
The PM-MITRA scheme, first announced in the Union Budget 2021-22 aims to develop seven integrated large scale and modern industrial infrastructure facility for the entire textile value chain, from fibre to fabric to garment.
Subsequently, in March 2023, the centre announced setting up of mega textile parks in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh under the scheme.
The location for the seven mega textile parks were selected using the “Challenge Method”.
Each park will come up in at least 1,000 acre land with ready nearby availability of raw material, fully-equipped infrastructure including port, road and rail connectivity, water and power availability etc.
For a greenfield PM-MITRA park, the Centre’s development capital support will be 30 per cent of the project cost, with a cap of Rs 500 crore.
For brownfield sites, after assessment, development capital support of 30 per cent of project cost of balance infrastructure and other support facilities to be developed will be extended. The limit has been set at Rs 200 crore.
