The first smart city under Narendra Modi's smart cities programme will come up in the prime minister's home state of Gujarat.
The tendering process will begin for the Dholera special investment region, located near Ahmedabad, as part of the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor (DMIC.) The cost of building the required trunk infrastructure is expected to be Rs 3,000 crore.
Sanctioned in 2007, the DMIC is 2,700 Km long.
Dholera will cover 920 Km of the corridor, with 154 Km to be developed in the first phase.
Make In India and Smart Cities
The 'Make in India' programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to set up 100 smart cities, along the industrial corridor in its bid to make inroads in building a robust manufacturing sector.
DMIC Development Corp CEO Talleen Kumar said that they were ready to roll out four smart industrial cities, and invited bids from across the globe. Governments and investors from Germany, the US, South Korea and the UK, among others have been approached to help with the setting up, he added.
The necessary request for qualification (RFQ) for roads and utilities has already been floated by the government and is expected to close by mid-January.
The DMIC Trust and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) will have to review and issue approval for a request for proposals to be floated.
Investment proposals in excess of Rs 1,200 crore require CCEA approval.
Trunk infrastructure is expected to comprise about 35-40% of the project, which will be funded by the DMIC Trust, with the remaining project structured on a public private partnership (PPP) model.
Drinking water supply, water and sewage treatment plant and administrative centre will form part of the trunk infrastructure scheme.
The tendering process has been finalized for the integrated industrial townships in Greater Noida, UP and Vikram Udyogpuri, MP and the Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Park in Maharashtra.
In Greater Noida, the special purpose vehicle has received the necessary 747 acres of land, and the 84 sq Km Shendra-Bidkin industrial park will begin inviting bids for the Shendra region soon, said Kumar.
The first phase of the DMIC focuses on seven cities, of these master plans for six have already been completed.
Japanese Investment
The first stage has received an investment of $4.5 from Japan, through the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC.) Together, the two entities own 26% in the project.
Asia's second biggest economy is also working on the development of other industrial corridors, according to The Economic Times.
The department of industrial policy and promotion has set up a special management team – Japan Plus, made of officials from both governments to help facilitate and fast track investment proposals.
