The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), a mega infrastructure project with an estimated investment of $100 billion, has attracted interest from companies based out of Canada, the U.S., Singapore and Taiwan.
Representatives of Canadian Commercial Corporation, GIC Singapore, Taiwanese securities industry major Yuanta Securities, as well as executives of some American firms, held talks separately with officials of the DMIC Development Corporation, according to official sources.
Canadian Commercial Corporation is a Canada government corporation that aims to boost Canadian trade by helping exporters from that country access government procurement markets in other nations via government-to-government contracting, while GIC Singapore is the Singapore government’s sovereign wealth fund with assets of around $360 billion.
The DMIC Development Corporation is a special purpose company incorporated for the development of the DMIC project.
The focus areas included defence as well as Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO). Discussions also revolved around proposals to set up units to manufacture aerospace and defence equipment in DMIC smart cities.
Water firms
It is learnt that Singapore-based water companies are keen on participating in the DMIC project and one such firm had even held discussions on taking up a feasibility study regarding water supply in the Manesar-Bawal Investment Region (MBIR).
The first phase of the DMIC Project will cover five Investment Regions (or IR — ‘specifically delineated industrial region with a minimum area of more than 200 square kilometres) and three Industrial Areas (or IA — developed with a minimum area of more than 100 square kilometres).
As per the government, the Investment Regions include the Ahmedabad–Dholera Special IR in Gujarat (903 sq.km, with likely employment for 8 lakh people), Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad IR in Uttar Pradesh (218 sq.km, likely employment for 12 lakh people), MBIR in Haryana (402 sq.km, estimated employment for 16 lakh people), Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana IR in Rajasthan (160 sq.km, likely employment for 5.2 lakh people) and Pitampur-Dhar-Mhow IR in Madhya Pradesh (372 sq.km, estimated employment for 4.5 lakh people).
The IAs include Shendra-Bidkin IA in Maharashtra (84 sq. km, with an estimated employment for 7.5 lakh people), Dighi Port IA in Maharashtra (253 sq. km, likely employment for 3.2 lakh people) and Jodhpur-Pali-Marwar IA in Rajasthan (155 sq. km, likely employment for 3.2 lakh people).
Textile facility
South Korean industrial conglomerate Hyosung Corporation is reportedly set to invest about ₹3,400 crore to establish a textile manufacturing facility in the Shendra-Bidkin IA.
Meanwhile, talks are on to develop the Ahmedabad–Dholera Special IR into an MRO hub for aerospace and defence firms.
