8 Emerging Industrial townships in the Making

Japan has spotted 11 destinations in India to develop as Industrial townships.

True to its promise to help India develop its infrastructure and promote domestic manufacturing in the country, the Japanese government has decided to double its investment meant for development activities. In this regard, the Japanese government has short-listed 11 destinations in India where it plans to develop industrial townships, which are expected to serve as investment hubs.

These include Tumkur in Karnataka, Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Supa in Maharashtra, Mandal in Gujarat, Ghilot and Neemrana in Rajasthan, Jhajjar in Haryana and the Integrated Industrial Township in Greater Noida.

Key Highlights

The Japanese government plans to double its investment outlay in India to about $35 billion in the next five years.
It also plans to impart soft-skills training to manufacturing sector workers in India with the objective of bridging the demand-supply gap as well as ensure technology transfer in a seamless manner.
Incidentally, Japan has already invested heavily in many of our industrial corridors. It is expected that this move will go a long way in further strengthening bilateral economic ties between the two countries.
Focussing on infrastructure development in the country, Japan also plans to join hands with India in promoting domestic manufacturing, thereby supporting the ‘Make in India’ policy that the Indian government is stressing on.

Here is a snapshot of the identified sites.

Tumkur

Located about 72 km northwest of Bangalore along NH-4, Tumkur has been identified by the Japanese government to be converted into a Japanese village with road, rail and port connectivity. Not to forget, there are also plans to develop it into a smart city.

A 14,000-acre zone surrounding Vasantanarasapura village has been identified for the purpose with the objective of converting it into a National Investment and Manufacturing Zone, besides a technology hub which would be about 42 times the size of Electronic City.

Ponneri

Ponneri which is located about 38 km north of Chennai in Thiruvallur district is also set to be developed into a Smart City as proposed in the Union Budget 2014. Considering that it is close to Chennai city and the Ennore port, Japan has evinced interest in taking up development activities here, particularly because many Japanese companies are located in the vicinity. Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) has been entrusted with preparing the master plan for the development of the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor.

Supa

Supa is a village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, located about 71 km south-east of Pune. The Japanese External Trade Organisation (Jetro) and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in late 2013 to develop an industrial park in the region exclusively for Japanese companies. About 1200 acres of land has been allotted for the development of the park in the Supa Parner Industrial Estate which is about 75 km from Pune.

Mandal

Mandal which is located in North Gujarat and about 86 km west of Ahmedabad is another region which is being propped up to be developed as a major industrial and commercial hub in Gujarat. The State government which plans to develop Mandal as a manufacturing investment zone has already drawn plans to convert it into a Special Investment Region (SIR). Mandal has already been in the news of late due to the fact that Maruti Suzuki India has zeroed in on Hansalpur, which is part of the Mandal SIR, for starting its car plant.

Ghilot

Ghilot, located in North Rajasthan, about 85 km from Alwar is another fast emerging industrial region. The 1700-acre industrial area is renowned for having a dedicated zone for South Korean companies. Besides, a second Japanese zone is also expected to come up in Ghilot.

Neemrana

Neemrana is located in the vicinity of Ghilot, about 17 km to be precise. The South Korean government has approached the Rajasthan government requesting an industrial zone in Neemrana while the Japanese government has requested for a second industrial zone in the area. This would provide a shot in the arm for the Central government’s efforts to develop major industrial clusters in the region. Japan already has an industrial zone in the Neemrana with many high profile Japanese companies based there. Being located along the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor would further bolster its reputation as an industrial hub which is expected to trigger a major real estate boom in the region.

Jhajjar

Jhajjar is another upcoming industrial area located about 78 km south-east of central Haryana. It is also renowned for its proximity to Delhi (about 74 km) and Gurgaon (about 43 km). Jhajjar has witnessed rapid industrial growth in recent times with the infrastructure being developed adequately to promote this growth. Presently there are more than 1500 small scale industries as well as about 40 medium and large scale industries in and around Jhajjar.

Integrated Industrial Township

The proposed Integrated Industrial Township in Greater Noida is being planned to be developed as part of the DMIC (Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor). The Greater Noida Authority as well as the DMIC trust will enter into a joint venture to execute the Integrated Industrial Township project. This entity will be responsible for developing the trunk infrastructure for the project, which comes within the Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad investment region of the DMIC.