Industrial corridors as catalysts for sustainable urbanization across India

Industrial corridors as catalysts for sustainable urbanization across India

By Anshuman Magazine, As we step into 75 years of independence, there is a vital need to focus on evolving a shared and an implementable vision of a resilient future India. The current Government, therefore, through both policy and planning, is keenly looking to drive ideas which encompass the key pillars of national growth. Some of these include livelihood enhancement through creation of meaningful and value-added employment, better quality of life through superior and affordable housing, enhancement of environmental goals and enhanced connectivity platform for goods, services, and the people movement.

These factors will essentially form the bedrock for modern day sustainable habitation, backed by a strong industrialization platform as the primary driver of the economy. Other unique selling points of India’s future potential lie in the burgeoning young population, increasing disposable income and competitive factors of production, all of which has to be underpinned by proactive Governance.

According to the World Bank, India as a nation has emerged as one of the most successful economies of the world, registering an annual GDP growth rate of nearly 6% over the past decade. Notwithstanding the detrimental effect of the pandemic, India truly has the potential to become the third largest economy of World (after the USA and China) by 2030. A key outcome of such economic growth is often rapid and unplanned urbanisation, but the answer to equitable nation building lies in the creation and expansion of future economic nodes, in an equitable geographic manner, to achieve balanced development across the country.

If we analyse the spread of growth across India, we realise that urban India today contributes nearly 55 to 60% of the total GDP of India and with growing in-migration from all parts of the nation, India’s current set of mega city metropolitan areas are increasingly becoming more densely populated. This massive urbanization, albeit a testimony to India’s progress as a nation, also exerts enormous pressure on the civic infrastructure. As population pressure mounts, authorities are grappling to provide basic amenities such as water, power, roads, parking, safety, amongst others. Hence, the need for inclusive economic policies which shall distribute this massive urban population in an equitable manner across various locations of the country emerges as one of the needs of the hour. While the mega cities of India will continue to shoulder the burden of this urban population boom, it is imperative to provide sufficient economic stimulus to smaller towns and cities such as Nagpur, Agra, Palakkad. Warangal, Satara, Prayagraj, amongst others.

One of the key exponents of propagating equitable economic and employment benefits within the country, is the development of industrial corridors on a pan India platform, currently being undertaken under the leadership of the National Corridor Development Corporation of India. These industrial corridors which are being planned and developed, along multiple multimodal transportation spines, such as rail or national highways, have the potential to infuse equitable and sustainable urbanisation by creating economic nodes across the country, and thereby reducing the need for migration to the mega cities of India.

Realizing the potential of economic corridors, the current Government has begun an ambitious journey of expanding the plan of developing industrial corridors, from the initial single Delhi Mumbai industrial corridor to implementing 11 such projects across India. These corridors are being strategically planned to traverse the length and breadth of the corridor to spread the economic benefits to remote corners of the country and ensure an equitable economic development. Presently eleven corridors have been planned; these industrial nodes are being planned in a manner to make them self-sustaining urban ecosystems, replete with various urban infrastructure alongside industrial infrastructure. Most of these nodes imbibe the concept of integrated township living and a walk to work concept, by providing residential, retail, entertainment as well as healthcare facilities to blue and white collared workers, as well as the larger populace in the region.

As a case in point, the Dholera Special Investment Region which has quality social and residential infrastructure planned alongside industrial development. In a significant way, affordable housing therefore becomes a key feature of these corridors which is also in alignment with the Government’s overarching objective of providing housing for all. The proposed industrial corridors in essence strive to achieve these goals by creating employment and providing accommodation for all income groups.

Industrialization as a catalyst for urbanization, has historically had a strong precedence in India, where industrial towns such as Jamshedpur, Bhilai, Vizag, etc., developed alongside major manufacturing plants. However, learnings need to be drawn from these developments as many of them have also struggled to cope with unplanned urbanization and the question of sustainability and long-term life of such nodes, specifically in terms of their residential offerings. The industrial corridor planning programme, now plans to develop strategies which hope to mitigate such issues and put into practice innovative concepts for the economic nodes being developed so that the horizon of development and use of such projects are time proofed.

The National Industrial Corridor Development Programme is providing a strong platform and foundation for long term urban planning and urbanisation. This programme brings to the forefront that such planning and infrastructure development should be undertaken, much before marketing or implementation of industrial units, as it is typically difficult to ramp up urbanisation capacities such as transport, connectivity, utilities, financing, etc. once the process of city building is underway.

Another major goal which shall be achieved through development of industrial corridors would be enhancement of connectivity. In an endeavour to develop these industrial nodes, a significant amount of investment shall be made into development of physical infrastructure such as last mile connectivity, transportation linkages such as rail siding, power capacity augmentation. This infrastructure shall also provide significant fillip to the local economy and infrastructure development to smaller towns and cities. It is pertinent to know that one of the flagship projects announced by the Government of India would be the Gati Shakti Master Plan, which intends to connect major industrial clusters, to smaller and newer economic towns, thereby providing opportunities for seamless backward and forward linkages to manufacturers. This initiative shall further allow for seamless movement of labour from one manufacturing region to other, thereby, leading to rapid urbanization across new nodes.

It is estimated that the employment generation is nearly 50 to 60 per acre for such industrial nodes. As a cascading effect, this population would further drive demand for residential and institutional infrastructure of the region, thereby making such projects viable, which were hitherto struggling to generate demand. The benefits of industrialization shall not merely be restricted to demand for housing; a cascading impact on the service sector is also envisaged. The potential to create jobs within the service sector is immense as demand for various services such as banking, finance, logistics, and hospitality shall increase with a jump in industrialization.

A key aspect of developing these industrial nodes as a new age industrial township would be addressing the challenges around sustainability and climate change. Thus, environmental and social concerns backed by strong governance is critical to make these cities habitable over sustained periods of time. Most of these industrial nodes have an unwavering commitment towards sustainability and incorporate measures such as use of renewable energy, rain water harvesting as key planning elements. Hence, eco-industrial parks and smart cities shall take centre-stage of planning in the foreseeable future.

However, private sector participation needs to be encouraged through conducive concession agreements and incentivizing developers through competitive access to finance, encumbrance free land and others. Furthermore, it is imperative to allow private concessionaires to realize profits from higher rent yielding assets such as commercial, retail, hospitality. Hence, integrated townships are not only conducive from a planning perspective but also make them more attractive from a private sector participation as well. Realizing this opportunity, a number of nodes are being envisaged by NICDC to be developed through participation of private developers.

Perhaps the single most significant achievement of these NICDC nodes shall be to integrate a number of Government of India schemes under one common initiative. While the Government has a number of schemes which promote various urban development initiatives such as housing for all, rental housing schemes, city rejuvenation, the industrial corridors have the potential to integrate all such initiatives through a common driver. Hence, NICDC nodes assume a massive importance in fostering economic benefits coupled with urban development and sustainable development and propelling the future developments of the country.

(The author is Chairman & CEO, CBRE – India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of the Financial Express Online.)


ADB approved a $250 million loan to offer support to India’s National Industrial Corridor Development Program

Industrial corridors as catalysts for sustainable urbanization across India

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on October 29, 2021, approved a $250 million (about Rs 1,875 crores) loan to offer support to India’s National Industrial Corridor Development Program (NICDP). This is the first subprogram loan of the programmatic $500 million loan for the development of 11 industrial corridors across 17 states.

ADB $250 million loan for India’s National Industrial Corridor Development Program (NICDP)

ADB is committed to contributing to the ambitious reform agenda of the Government of India to strengthen industrial infrastructure. The assistance will also aid India in boosting the competitiveness of its manufacturing sector, generating a high level of formal employment, and increasing the share of manufacturing in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The first subprogram loan of $250 for India’s National Industrial Corridor Development Program (NICDP) will aid Indian government initiatives in strengthening institutional framework and capacity building for industrial corridor planning, facilitating ease of doing business, improving project readiness, and creating opportunities for domestic and international investors.

India’s National Industrial Corridor Development Program (NICDP)

India’s National Industrial Corridor Development Program (NICDP) aims at developing world-class industrial nodes. Under NICDP, key supporting features of these industrial nodes would be efficient urban agglomeration, climate-resilient, sustainable infrastructure, and multimodal connectivity including airports, ports, etc.

The NICDP will also be seeking strong institutional and regulatory frameworks. As a part of NICDP, India is also developing initiatives for green corridor frameworks, climate-resilient infrastructure, and skill enhancement for enabling the participation of female labor.

As per the official data on the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited (NICDC), 11 Industrial Corridors Projects are being taken up for development with 30 Projects to be developed in 04 phases up to 2024-25:

1. Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)

2. Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC)

3. Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC)

4. East Coast Industrial Corridor (ECIC) with Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) as Phase 1

5. Bengaluru Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC)

6. Extension of CBIC to Kochi via Coimbatore

7. Hyderabad Nagpur Industrial Corridor (HNIC)

8. Hyderabad Warangal Industrial Corridor (HWIC)

9. Hyderabad Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (HBIC)

10. Odisha Economic Corridor (OEC)

11. Delhi Nagpur Industrial Corridor (DNIC)

Significance

The proposed Industrial Corridor Development Program by ADB will aid in expanding and enhancing the competitiveness of manufacturing in India by supporting the development of industrial corridors.

The program will accelerate inclusive economic transformation, boost economic competitiveness and create jobs, expand multi-modal transport networks along economic corridors, address skills gaps to support industrialization, and enhance institutions for corridor management.

India recently upgraded its Industrial Park Rating System (IPRS) for boosting industrial infrastructure competitiveness and supporting policies to enable industrialization across the country.

India has also taken up significant reforms for increasing the productivity and competitiveness of the manufacturing sector. These reforms include reducing corporate taxes, streamlining business processes to facilitate private investment, increasing public investment in infrastructure, consolidating labor codes, and approving the creation of a new development institution.

The Indian government has also launched the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Skill India’ programs for attracting youth and creating high-value jobs in the manufacturing industry.

About Asian Development Bank

Established in 1966, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In a bid to assist its members and partners, ADB provides loans, technical assistance, equity investments, and grants for promoting social and economic development.


Bengaluru - Mumbai Industrial Corridor: Dharwad Node To Be Developed In Over 6,000 Acres

The union government has envisioned Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC) to facilitate the development of a well-planned and resource-efficient industrial base in Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The perspective plan for the overall corridor has been prepared, and Dharwad (Karnataka) and Satara (Maharashtra) have been identified as the priority nodes.

Under BMIC, the Dharwad node spreads across an area of over 6,000 acres. It is close to Hubballi-Dharwad twin city, the second-largest Municipal Corporation in Karnataka after Bengaluru.

The site is well connected by roads (NH 48 and 67) connecting the metro cities Mumbai, Bengaluru and Goa and other major urban centres.

The existing railway station at Dharwad is located at 25 km, and the proposed Dharwad-Belgavi rail line is adjacent to the site. Hubbali airport is 30 km, while the nearest seaports are at Karwar(170 km) and Goa (180 km).

The project is being developed jointly by National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) and Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB).

“The proposed industrial development at Dharwad will augment the existing industrial development and create an investment destination for various categories of industries through provision of large-scale regional trunk infrastructure at Dharwad and tap the potential of the existing road/rail freight movement along BMIC,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.

“Under PM GatiShakti, the National Master Plan for providing multimodal connectivity, any infrastructure gaps required for Dharwad node will be examined and taken up for development for holistically integrating the economic zones,” it added.


Maharashtra’s industrial node attracts investment of over ₹6,500 crore

Maharashtra’s industrial node attracts investment of over ₹6,500 crore

Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Area in Aurangabad district is likely to create 7.5 lakh employment opportunities The Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Area (SBIA) in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra is set to change the economic landscape of the drought-prone region. SBIA, one of the industrial nodes on Delhi - Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) has attracted investment of over ₹6,500 crore and is likely to create 7.5 lakh employment opportunities.

DMIC is one of the most ambitious infrastructure programme aiming to develop new industrial cities as Smart Cities and converging next-generation technologies across infrastructure sectors.

The two nodes in Maharashtra on DMIC include Shendra Bidkin Industrial Area and Dighi Port Industrial Area. The Shendra industrial area is already operational. The Bidkin and Dighi Port Industrial areas are still under construction.

Also read: 451 acres land allotted to companies to set up units under DMIC project in 4 states

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s information given to the Lok Sabha this week, the Maharashtra Government has transferred the entire 8.39 sq km of land to the Special Purpose Vehicle named Aurangabad Industrial Township Limited in Shendra. The matching equity of ₹602.80 crore has been released by the Centre through National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT).

Major trunk infrastructure works are completed with 93 plots allotted including allotment of 100 acres to major investors like a South Korean company Hyosung. An investment of over ₹6,500 crore has been attracted in this area, the Ministry informed the Lok Sabha.

Large-scale industrial cluster for high growth industries with wide-ranging infrastructure services, convenient access and provisions to handle environmental waste with minimum impacts is coming up in these two areas.

In Bidkin Industrial Area out of a total 32 sq. km, the Maharashtra government has transferred 28.8 sq. km and matching equity of ₹2,397.20 crore has been released by the Centre. Trunk infrastructure works here are nearing completion.

As per development plan, direct-indirect employment generation potential for SBIA is approximately 7.5 lakh.

Dighi Industrial Area

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Government has confirmed the availability of 5,935 acres of land for Dighi Industrial Area ( Raigad district). Of this 3,622 acres is in possession of the State government. Detailed master planning and preliminary engineering for the land parcels have been initiated. As per the development plan, employment generation potential for Dighi Industrial Area is approximately 3.2 lakh

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(From: The Business Line)