NEW DELHI:
Dholera, the largest of the eight industrial smart cities currently being built under the $100 billion DMIC project, is offering industries and businesses 35% cheaper power than the rest of the country among a host of early bird incentives that promise to raise their global competitiveness, as it speeds towards the completion of its first phase of development.
As India’s only IGBC ‘Platinum Rated’ city, Dholera would also have sustainable infrastructure and technologies that are expected to reduce power loss (about 2-3%) providing additional advantages to investors,” Managing Director of Dholera Industrial City Development Ltd (DICDL) J P Shivhare said here while sharing details of the progress made on the greenfield city in Gujarat at a workshop on Investment and Business opportunities in DMIC Project.
“Assuming the per unit month of consumption is 7 lakh units for 2 MW of power, the total saving as compared to other states will be around Rs 2.18 crore annually at Dholera,” Shivhare said. He said of the committed project cost of Rs 4,423 Cr. (USD 700m), contracts worth Rs 2,800 Cr. (USD 430m) have already been awarded.
Gujarat is a policy driven state that has advantages including transparent policies, higher tax incentives, quick land allotments (90 days), lower utility costs, logistics support, 6-lane expressway (Ahmedabad-Dholera) and other future-ready infrastructure, Shivhare said. One of the key attractions of this futuristic city is its 11 % green coverage.
“We are targeting a host of industries for Dholera with early bird incentives. Among them are defence, aviation (MROs), electronics, pharma, textiles, heavy engineering, automobile and component makers, besides IT, electronics, bio-technology and food processing,” Shivhare said.
Infrastructure wise, he outlined several attractive features – upcoming metro rail connectivity, a new green filed airport at Dholera for which an RFP will be floated next month, and charging stations to be set up for EVs/Hybrids in private partnership mode.
The greenfield international airport, besides becoming a logistics hub for Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR), will help dilute footfall from the existing Ahmedabad International Airport in the future. It will also help decongest traffic from the cities of Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Nadiad and Anand.
In July European aviation giant Airbus signed a “Strategic Partnership” MoU, advising the DICDL on setting up an Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing cluster in DSIR. Since India does not have an MRO facility on a large-scale airliners have to bank upon more expensive overseas hubs to service their aircraft. The proposed MRO facility /Aviation Zone and would consist of aircraft parts manufacturing, flight training institutes etc. and MRO services and operations like body, engine, paint and airframe. While, the defence cluster will seek to realise India’s goal of indigenization and self-reliance under the Make in India mission.
“Dholera today offers the largest land parcels in South East Asia for industries. In terms of infrastructure, it is designed to exceed international benchmarks for quality, performance standards and best practices,” Shivhare added.
With a total footprint of over 920 sq. km, Dholera is the biggest of the eight industrial smart cities being developed in the first phase of DMIC project. Infrastructure implementation in Dholera SIR is taking place in a phased manner.
The Dholera Industrial City Development Limited (DICDL), the SPV formed by the DMIC Trust and Government of Gujarat to administer the special investment region, is offering discount on land prices for anchor tenants, tax waivers, skilling support for companies, highly competitive prices on utilities and ‘smart’ infrastructure that will be fully connected and managed through ICT networks, besides the attraction of well-planned transport networks and residential spaces conducive for ‘green and sustainable’ living.
