Industrial corridor to fast-track business in Gujarat

The ambitious Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project that would create a dedicated rail freight corridor (DRFC) between the national and financial capitals of India, is set to revolutionise business and industry in western region of the country, the Hindu Business Line reported.

The US$90 billion project has been conceived as a high-speed connectivity for high-axle load wagons or double-stacked container trains with end-terminals at Dadri in the National Capital Region of Delhi and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port near Mumbai.

It is a State-sponsored industrial development project aiming to develop an industrial zone spanning across seven States: Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The project will see major expansion of infrastructure and industry including industrial clusters and rail, road, port, air connectivity in the States along the route of the 1,483-km-long corridor. About 38 percent, or 564 km, of this corridor will pass through Gujarat alone; this means 18 out of 26 districts, or 62 percent of the total area of Gujarat, will fall in this project.

Gujarat is expected to corner the lion's share of development due to the DMIC, particularly as the State's investment potential will be one-third of the total $90 billion. India plans to raise nearly $70 billion from private sector for the project.

The two-phase project is expected to deliver a 2-3-4-5 benefit, that is, double employment, triple industrial output, quadruple exports from the region in five years. The duration of its Phase I, as originally conceived, was from 2008-09 to 2012-13, but may be delayed due to the problems arising out of the global economic recession.

On March 15, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jyotiraditya Scindia informed Parliament that a provision of $73.3 milloin had been made during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan for its project development fund to ensure availability of uninterrupted funds for various preparatory activities.

 
(Source: Cargo News Asia)