National

Dholera making it big as defence manufacturing hub

Rahul Wadke Mumbai | Updated on January 20, 2018 Published on February 18, 2016

Investment boost Farmers at Sarsla village in Dholera discussingthe Special Investment Region project (file photo)

Industrial city in Gujarat offers 8 sq km plots to defence companies





Dholera, an industrial city coming up over 920 sq km in Gujarat under the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), has caught the attention of planners in New Delhi. Attempts are being made to develop it as an artillery and aerospace hub.

Industrial plots measuring 8 sq km are being offered to global defence suppliers for testing and storage of equipment.

Dholera is an ancient port town in the Gulf of Khambatt. Next to the old settlement is the new industrial city, being developed as a node under the $90-billion DMIC project.

Los Angeles-based management consultant Aecom infrastructure is handling the main project planning and execution.

Jagadish Salgaonkar, Senior Vice-President of Aecom, told BusinessLine that anything in defence space, such as artillery, tanks, jeeps and big guns, can be made in Dholera.

Ready to make

All these units need large areas to operate and test their equipment. “We are in touch with the Ministry of Defence for Dholera. Whenever the Defence Minister strikes a big defence deal, all those equipments can be built there,” Salgaonkar said.

The city is being developed in phases. In the first phase, ₹4,400 crore is being pumped in to develop basic infrastructure so that companies can just plug in and start their operations. None of the South Asian countries offer 8 sq km plots for defence companies, he said.

MRO market

“Our target market is maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) facilities for aircraft, defence contractors and heavy machinery manufactures, which require huge land for inventory management. Companies dealing with helicopters and aircraft can set up shops here. Along with large manufacturers, 100 SMEs will also come to Dholera,” Salgaonkar said.

He added that since the land is owned by the State government, contiguous land parcels can be made available to companies. This can be provided for future expansion of the industrial units.

Transport facilities

Dholera is also being connected to Ahmedabad with a metro line, which will halve the travel time. About ₹800 crore is also being invested in setting up an airport in Dholera to compliment the MRO facilities.

Salgaonkar added that when the anchor industries come up they are expected to spend a minimum of ₹45,000 crore on the factories and office buildings.

The multiplier effect is huge — in five years ₹1 lakh crore of investments are expected in the city.

Published on February 18, 2016

A letter from the Editor

Dear Readers,

The coronavirus crisis has changed the world completely in the last few months. All of us have been locked into our homes, economic activity has come to a near standstill. Everyone has been impacted.

Including your favourite business and financial newspaper. Our printing and distribution chains have been severely disrupted across the country, leaving readers without access to newspapers. Newspaper delivery agents have also been unable to service their customers because of multiple restrictions.

In these difficult times, we, at BusinessLine have been working continuously every day so that you are informed about all the developments – whether on the pandemic, on policy responses, or the impact on the world of business and finance. Our team has been working round the clock to keep track of developments so that you – the reader – gets accurate information and actionable insights so that you can protect your jobs, businesses, finances and investments.

We are trying our best to ensure the newspaper reaches your hands every day. We have also ensured that even if your paper is not delivered, you can access BusinessLine in the e-paper format – just as it appears in print. Our website and apps too, are updated every minute, so that you can access the information you want anywhere, anytime.

But all this comes at a heavy cost. As you are aware, the lockdowns have wiped out almost all our entire revenue stream. Sustaining our quality journalism has become extremely challenging. That we have managed so far is thanks to your support. I thank all our subscribers – print and digital – for your support.

I appeal to all or readers to help us navigate these challenging times and help sustain one of the truly independent and credible voices in the world of Indian journalism. Doing so is easy. You can help us enormously simply by subscribing to our digital or e-paper editions. We offer several affordable subscription plans for our website, which includes Portfolio, our investment advisory section that offers rich investment advice from our highly qualified, in-house Research Bureau, the only such team in the Indian newspaper industry.

A little help from you can make a huge difference to the cause of quality journalism!

Support Quality Journalism
null
This article is closed for comments.
Please Email the Editor
You have read 1 out of 3 free articles for this week. For full access, please subscribe and get unlimited access to all sections.