Special Economic Zone Indore is about to finalise a strategic partner for its development, S.K. Bansal, Joint Development Commissioner, SEZ Indore, disclosed. During the fiscal year 2005-06 around Rs 145 crore worth exports took place at the SEZ. The recent SEZ Act will help in administration of special economic zones and attract more foreign direct investment.
Phase-I and phase-II of the zone comprise India's first greenfield SEZ which is spread over 1,308 hectares. Indore SEZ is one of the fastest developing, multi-product special economic zones. Phase-I of the development is complete and is spread over 138.57 hectares, while development for phase-II will start any day.
Pratibha Syntex and IPCA have started construction of their units, while Cipla will start construction of its unit during this year. Advance Bio-Chem, a Rs 40 crore unit, has also started construction of its units. Besides, Amula Exports, SRF Ltd and Flexitufs are also operating in the zone. NTPC has committed to supply 25-mw power in phases.
Indore SEZ enjoys benefit of location as it is located adjacent to the industrial growth complex, Pithampur-Kheda, near Indore. It is also equipped with a fully operational inland container depot managed by Container Corporation of India. The depot is spread over 6.57 hectares and is a well-developed dry port.
SEZ Indore offers various tax, duty, foreign direct investment and functional benefits and facilitates uninterrupted operation for the units. "The investor will come to our SEZ since Madhya Pradesh is one of the best states to invest in, with hardly any labour problems and bureaucratic hurdles," Bansal stated.