GMR Infra procures 280 acres of land in Tamil Nadu

Multi product SEZ provides a satellite industrial township location: GMR

GMR Infrastructure Ltd has procured around 280 acres of land in Krishnagiri district, on the Tamil Nadu and Bangalore border, to set up a multi product Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

First phase of the project is estimated to be around Rs 1,050 crore. It may be noted, the company signed MoU with the state government for this project in 2007.

Being close to Bangalore (around 50 km from Electronics City), the project provides a satellite industrial township location, said the GMR's spokesperson.

State Industries Department Policy Note stated that Tidco has proposed to implement a multi product Special Economic Zone, through GMR Infrastructure Limited in Krishnagiri district. The project is a JV with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (Tidco), which would hold up to 11% stake in the project.

The lands for this project have been identified and are being procured by the project company. It is proposed to implement a sector specific SEZ for Engineering Sector in about 280 acres of land, at an estimated cost of Rs 1,050 crore in Phase-I of the project.

According to GMR's spokesperson the company expects to get industrial tenants by the third quarter of this fiscal, around October – November time.

The construction work related to external infrastructure like roads, power and water supply will take 1-1.5 years. The internal infrastructure like internal roads, water supply network, drainage works, etc will be developed within 6 months of signing MOUs with the industrial tenants.

The company is targeting Engineering, Electronics Manufacturing, Automotive, Aerospace industries for the initial phases of the project and also planning a multi-skill development center (MSDC) along with German training services firm GIZ IS. This will cater to the skill needs of the industries in the region.

“We have also applied to the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeITY) for approval for notifying the project as an Electronics Manufacturing Cluster. This will provide opportunity for Electronics Manufacturing companies to avail the benefits of MSIPs scheme,” said the spokesperson.

On delay in commissioning the project (MoU was signed in 2007), company's spokesperson said these kind of projects are usually long lead time projects, which significant time spent in the initial years on land acquisition. Gathering critical mass of land for project development takes time.

This also coincided with global economic recession and also the subsequent slowdown in the domestic economy. Lot of manufacturing firms decided to delay their expansion plans because of the macro economic situation.

“Now, we are seeing a pickup in the economy and hence the interest levels are also going up,” said the Spokesperson.