09.06.06
Posted in India, SEZ, Real Estate at 8:47 am by Mridul
Haryana gives in-principle nod to project to be spread over 20,000 acres to real estate giant DLF Universal Ltd is going to match Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd in setting up a 20,000 - acre multi-product Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Gurgaon.
Senior Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) officials say the private developer has offered the corporation a joint venture for the SEZ. “However, the project will have to be first approved by the Haryana Industrial Promotion Board (HIPB),” adds an official.
The proposed project, which has already received an “in-principle approval” of the Central government, is proposed to be set up on both sides of (Gurgaon-Jaipur) National Highway 8, bisecting the proposed Kundli Manesar Palwal (KMP) Expressway In fact, the proposed DLF SEZ will look on to the 25,000 - acre Reliance - HSIIDC joint venture SEZ likely to come up in Gurgaon and Jhajjar districts.
The proposed DLF SEZ will be developed in four phases. The first phase of 500 acres is expected to be completed by 2009 and the final phase by 2018.
The company expects the SEZ to attract an investment of Rs 1,24,000 crore in terms of fixed as-
sets like industrial, commercial and residential stock. The annual export potential of the project has been pegged at $10-12 billion once it is fully operational. The SEZ project will be developed through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) promoted by DLF
The company has identified land on both sides of NH 8 for the project, and has offered to keep any part of the land acquired by the state government for public purpose out of the SEZ project.
The project report submitted by DLF visualises 5,000-6,000 acres of the total project area being developed for industrial use in two parts - large industrial zone and small industrial zone. The large industrial zone will be developed with plots of 10, 25 and 50 acres, while the small industrial zone will be developed with plots of one, two and five acres. The company also proposes to demarcate a “free trade zone” within the processing area of the SEZ, which would lay emphasis on trading of goods and commodities manufactured within the SEZ, their packaging/ repackaging/ exhibition and the service sector, including BPOs, IT and ITES companies. The private developer will reserve about 2,000 acres for a commercial zone that will include shops and other establishments such as hotels, office complexes and banks. DLF will also develop about 20 million square feet of built-up infrastructure, which would include business centres, logistics park, warehouses and hotels.
Almost 10,000 acres will be developed solely as residential zone, providing all categories of houses for people working in the SEZ. DLF will also develop about 2,000 to 3,000 acres as institutional area, providing educational, healthcare and research infrastructure.
The private developer will provide connectivity to the 20,000-acre SEZ by creating an arterial road connecting NH 8 and the proposed Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway during the first phase of development. DLF also proposes to set up a gas-based captive power plant of 2,000 MW capacity at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore.
According to tentative company estimates, the land cost for the project will work out to Rs 10,000 crore. The development cost has been estimated at Rs 6,142 crore, the cost for readily built infrastructure at Rs 2,625 and the cost of project management at Rs 938 crore.
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Posted in India, investment, SEZ, Government at 8:41 am by Mridul
Warehousing hub at Kandla
A Rs 200-300-crore warehousing hub is coming up outside Kandla Port. Jointly promoted by Kandla SEZ and IL&FS, the facility is said to be India’s first in scope and dimensions. Already about 20 plots have been allotted for warehouse facility outside the port for setting up container freight stations and warehouses. The port has also facilitated establishment of storage facilities for over 8 lakh kilolitres of liquid which are being operated by private parties. The liquid handling facilities connect the tank farms directly to oil jetties through pipelines.
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08.31.06
Posted in Review, News, India, investment, SEZ, Government, Prices, Real Estate at 11:40 pm by Mridul
SEZ: Is it Export promotion or Real Estate Promotion: says RBI
Now the SEZ fever has disturbed the (Reserve Bank of India) RBI too. The RBI has said that the SEZ policy 2005 sees to be more focused on the Real Estate promotion rather that Export promotion. In the recent reports, the RBI has said that “the tax breaks for the SEZ are only justifiable only if they establish forward or backward linkage with the domestic economy”.
Our review: If RBI is now in picture, then it’s a matter of concern. This will definitely ignite the political dispute for SEZ into the states also. The promoters who have already set up their plants in the existing operational SEZ must be the most happiest persons coz they would be affected by any the policy change into the SEZ act, since their units were set up in the SEZ which the old policy was in action.
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08.30.06
Posted in News, India, investment, SEZ, Government, Real Estate at 2:53 am by Mridul
Kerala inviting partners for SEZ in State.
The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) is inviting proposals, the real estate developers to partner into the SEZ that they are willing to set up in Kerala State. The corporation has acquired land in the Districts of Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram. KSIDC has acquired approximately 250 acres in each of the districts. The KSIDC has no problem setting up industries like textiles, garments, rubber products, healthcare, tourism, resorts, food processing etc.
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08.29.06
Posted in Review, News, investment, SEZ, Real Estate at 7:49 am by Mridul
Rs 15,000-crore refinery in Jamnagar SEZ : Essar
As the SEZ fever is going on in the country. Essar group has decided to set up a Rs 15,000-crore, 16-20 million tonne green-field refinery in its upcoming SEZ near Jamnagar. Jamnagar already boasts of the world’s largest grassroots refinery built by Reliance Industries (RIL). RIL is also setting up a Rs 25,000-crore, 27-mt refinery in its SEZ in the district. Essar has set a target of touching a cumulative refining capacity of 32 mt by 2009-10. The capacity expansion will be carried out in a phased manner. While the refinery at Vadinar, in Jamna¬gar, is ready for commissioning, the new capacities will be a part of Essar’s 1,000-hectare SEZ in the same district.
Essar has already got formal approval for developing the 1,000-hectare SEZ, for which it would pump in an estimated Rs 15,000 crore - most of which would be invested in constructing the new refinery.
Essar Oil, the group company executing the refinery project, has already begun the groundwork for construction of the new refinery as well as other downslream petrochemicals units that would be set up in the SEZ. Executives of Essar Oil have begun parleys with the state ports regulatory authority, asking the latter lo suggest suitable locations for putting up single buoy moorings (SBMs) in Gujarat waters. The company has sought approval for two SBMs.
The company is preparing a detailed project report for the new refinery as well as the two SBMs, the source added.
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08.25.06
Posted in Review, India, investment, SEZ, Act, Government, Information Technology, Real Estate at 3:44 am by Mridul
SEZ Caps: Central and State governments stands against each other.
So the SEZ war is on between the Central and the State Governments. PRESSURE is building on the central government from states for removal of the ceiling on SEZs by the empowered group of ministers (eGoM). The EGoM, which is meeting on Wednesday to review the cap, has to take the crucial decision on whether to maintain the cap at the original level, increase it, or do away with it.
State Ministers, Sharad Pawar, TJayanidhi Maran, Naveen Patnaik have been writing to the Central Government for this issue. They have asked the Government that the SEZ proposals for Maharashtra cannot be accommodated if the ceiling is not removed leading to loss of potential investment. With the commerce department formally approving 46 new SEZ proposals on Tuesday, the limit of 150 imposed by the EGoM has been exhausted, which has brought the State Ministries to react against the EGoM. The Orissa CM pointed out that his state, which had become an important investment destination for minerals and metals, IT and IT-enabled services, would lose out if the SEZ cap was not removed. He said Orissa was not as fast as many other states in getting sanctions and there should be fair and equal opportunities for all states in the sanctioning process.
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08.22.06
Posted in Review, News, India, investment, SEZ, Exemptions, Act, Information Technology at 11:27 pm by Mridul
Newly proposed policies by the Ministry of Finance for Special Economic Zones (SEZ)
So the Finance Ministry has come up with THEIR approach for the Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s). The Ministry has the following points to say:
(1) The New Units that are going to come up in these Special Economic Zones will have to make fresh investments in the Plant and Machinery i.e. they cannot shift their existing machinery into the SEZ.
(2) The Companies in the Special Economic Zones cannot trade the goods via the DTAs (Domestic Tariff Areas).
(3) Trading activities can only be carried out by those companies that are importing the good and reexporting them.
Now, the basic idea behind the SEZ is to attract investments, create infrastructure and employment and generate economic activities.
Our Review: Well, these points have both advantages and disadvantages for the developer and the companies opting to put up units in the special economic zones. The original equipment manufacturer will defiantly be a gainer in these conditions, since there will be no traders sitting up in these zones, so the manufacturer will be benefited by the tax sops. The developer will have to allot the units to the OEM’s only. So the developers may feel a little pinch from the real estate point of view in their SEZ’s. Well, what we feel is that there is nothing much to worry about. Because our country has got a good number amount of manufacturers and exporters right !!!!
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08.21.06
Posted in News, investment, SEZ, Service Tax, Exemptions, Information Technology, Automobiles, Biotechnology, Pharma at 7:21 am by Mridul
Lupin planning SEZ in India for themselves
Lupin, a global market leader in API and formulations in the Pharma Industry, is planning an SEZ in Maharashtra. The initial investment would be Rs 200 crore, which may go up to anywhere between Rs 400 crore and Rs 500 crore. The company has been heard for hunting land in Maharashtra. When asked to a senior official, he said that the company is would like to set up a manufacturing plant inside the SEZ and would not sell space to others. “We propose to put up a manufacturing plant inside the SEZ, but, in no way, are we going to develop it for the use of others,” a source said.
Our Review: With more and more SEZ coming up in the India, India would definitely be the preferred commercial hub of the world. The incentives that the government is giving in the SEZ would attract the foreign investments also. With Service Sector also waiting to get the incentives, more and more service providers outside India would prefer Indian companies to provide services at low costs.
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Posted in India, investment, SEZ, Information Technology, Automobiles, Biotechnology at 6:56 am by Mridul
Mahindra & Mahindra investing Rs 1,500 cr in Maharashtra
Mahindra & Mahindra has shortlisted four states Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttranchal and Karnataka. The company is planning to invest Rs 1,500 crore in next 2-3 years, under its automobile, infrastructure and information technology business in Maharashtra.
The company has signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understating) with the Government of Maharashtra State for extending its Nasik facility for manufacturing its multi purpose vehicle “Ingenio”, with an investment of Rs 550 crore. The project will just double the capacity of the company. Mahindra & Mahindra has planned two SEZ in Maharashtra, one near Pune which will bring in Rs 1000 crore and a Biotech SEZ in Thane will fetch Rs 150-200 crore. The total investment would be around investment to around 1500 crore. The automotive division of M&M is also in talks with Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur for developing a bio-diesel technolgy.
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08.19.06
Posted in Review, News, India, investment, SEZ, Service Tax, Exemptions, Act, Government at 6:17 am by Mridul
Service Tax breaks to SEZ in pipeline
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce is now planning to give service tax breaks to the companies opting to set up their units in the Special Economic Zones around the country. The companies which are already exempted from Service Tax in these SEZ’s are the companies that provide the services within the Special Economic Zone. Now the service providers having their units in SEZ will get this benefit too if this notification is issued. The export promotion council for EOUs and SEZ’s has taken up the issue with the government saying that “The SEZ Act clearly states that so long as a service is related to an authorised operation in an SEZ, exemption from service tax should be provided irrespective of where it is rendered.
Our Review: See, the Act is under and with the Government only and we feel that this Act is going to face amendments soon. How could be the finance ministry be happy with the Act when there is nothing that the government is getting from it. If it was upto the government, they would act as a sleeping partner in all the commercial activities going in the country.
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Posted in News, India, investment, SEZ at 6:05 am by Mridul
So here is the list of projects which are expected to start soon in India.
Reliance Haryana SEZ : SEZ (Haryana) : Haryana : Rs. 40,000 Cr.
Reliance Petroleum : jamnagar Petroleum Refinery (SEZ) : Gujarat : Rs. 25,000 Cr.
Mittal Steel Company NV : Integrated Steel (Jharkhand) - Phase 1 : Jharkhand :Rs. 15,000 Cr.
Nuclear Power Corp of India :Jaitapur Nudear Power :Maharashtra : Rs. 13,000 Cr.
Vedanta Alumina : Aluminium Smelter (Jharsuguda) : Orissa :Rs. 9,500 Cr.
SAIL : Integrated Steel (IISCO) : W Bengal, jharkhand : Rs. 8,107 Cr.
AP Power Development : Krishnapatnam Power : Andhra Pradesh : Rs. 8,000 Cr.
Bihar State Electricity Board : Nabinagar Thermal Power : Bihar : Rs. 8,000 Cr.
ONCC : Refinery (Barmer) : Rajasthan : Rs. 7,967 Cr.
Hindalco Industries : Integrated Aluminium (Sidhi) : Madhya Pradesh : Rs. 7,700 Cr.
Neyveli Lignite : Lignite-Based Power (South Gujarat) : Gujarat : Rs. 7,500 Cr.
Arunachal Pradesh Govt : Naying Hydro Electric Power : Arunachal Pradesh : Rs. 5,000 Cr.
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