Power surplus Punjab eyes global investments in developing two smart cities announced by the state

Three cities of Punjab- Amritsar, Jallandhar and Ludhiana- have been shortlisted for the 'Smart Cities' project of Govt of India

As Punjab has become power surplus with installed capacity of 13,500 megawatt against the power consumption of 9,000Mw to 11,500 Mw (peak load), the state government has been trying to hard sell the state to the cash rich global investors. The state government announced development of Mohali and New Chandigarh on its own and is trying to woo Korean companies to invest here.

A delegation led by the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal is in Seoul to seek participation of Korean companies in the 'Invest Punjab Summit' scheduled in October.

Three cities of Punjab— Amritsar, Jallandhar and Ludhiana— have been shortlisted for the 'Smart Cities' project of Government of India. The state Government has announced to develop Mohali and New Chandigarh (both on the Union Territory of Chandigarh border) on its own. A delegation led by the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal is in Korea to seek participation of Korean companies in the 'Invest Punjab Summit' scheduled in October.

This is the third overseas business delegation by Punjab in last one month to mobilise international participation in the third 'Invest Punjab series'.

The government has also offered Samsung Electronics to provide applications and solutions for the smart cities in Punjab.

Another delegation led by the state industry minister Madan Mohan Mittal visited China last week. The minister told that the Chinese equipment manufacturers for mobile telephone ZTE and Huwai have plans to add capacities in India and would shortly visit Punjab to explore investment opportunities here. Changsha High tech Industrial Development Zone signed an MoU for setting up a cluster in Punjab. The state has 1000 acre land available for fresh investment and depending upon the requirement of investors can organise more, told the minister.

The industrial health of Punjab has been depleting over the past few years as no large player has set its foot here. The incentives offered by other states diverted big players to other parts of India. The SAD-BJP government, in the last leg of its second consecutive tenure is pulling all strings to get big ticket investments as it would help in survival of SMEs in the state.