The Hindu Business Line : Board of Approval clears 23 SEZ projects

Some proposals cleared
Chhattisgarh Industrial Development Corporation for textiles, animation games, food processing and pharma.
Essar group's chemcial product SEZ
Sulzon International Ltd's SEZ for hi-tech engineering products and related services.

New Delhi , June 12

The Board of Approval to set up Special Economic Zones (SEZ) on Monday gave its nod for 23 proposals, including six pending ones entailing 2,100 hectares with an estimated investment component of Rs 14,000 crore.

With today's approval the total number of SEZs coming up in the country since the SEZ Act was notified in February 2006 number 103, the Special Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Mr Gopal K. Pillai, told Business Line here. He said that though 103 SEZ proposals have been cleared, the notified SEZs include the ones established in Chennai by Nokia, Flextronics, Mahindra and Apache Footwear in Andhra Pradesh.

He said today's SEZ proposals include the ones put by Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, Kerala Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, Chhattisgarh Industrial Development Corporation for textiles, animation games, food processing and pharmaceuticals. The Essar group is to put up an exclusive chemcial product SEZ, while Sulzon International Ltd is to put up near Mangalore port an SEZ for hi-tech engineering products and related services. He said the board has also cleared for the first time an SEZ exclusively meant for handicrafts to be developed by Parsvanth Developers Ltd in 100 hectares in Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Pillai said that at today's meeting 10 proposals were given in principle approval for projects put up by the Dubai-based Emmar MGF Pvt Ltd in which foreign direct investment amounting to $1 billion is likely to flow in three SEZs in areas covering information technology, auto components and gem and jewellery.

Stating that `notification' for five SEZs within a short span has already generated large employment with foreign companies and domestic companies developing products they chose to manufacture and export from these areas, Mr Pillai said that within a short span of six months the Wipro company developed IT SEZ in Kolkata has generated 2,000 jobs and exported Rs 95 crore worth of IT services.

To a question as to any ceiling for clearance of SEZ being mooted by the Government, an official of the Ministry clarified that even if the upper limit for setting up SEZ is being contemplated at 150, it means that 150 SEZs could be notified.

As such the Board could go ahead with clearance of more proposals because there has always been a gap between clearance of the project and its notification as the project owner has to acquire the land and complete other formalities before getting the notification from the Government.

However, the sources said that it is the intention of the Government to ensure that all hurdles are removed for faster notification so that the intended projects would go on stream and generate production, export and employment.

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