Mumbai: Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), India’s busiest container gateway near Mumbai, will launch its port-based special economic zone (SEZ) project by the third week of this month with an investment of Rs.1,000 crore, a top port official said.
“This port-based
SEZ would be developed over an area of 277 hectares. We have secured all necessary approvals, including environment nod, from the government,” N.N. Kumar, chairman of JNPT, said in an interview.
The SEZ will compete with private firm Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd located near Mundra Port spread over 6,473 hectares.
SEZs are industrial enclaves, deemed foreign territories from the perspective of several economic laws. Industrial units in the SEZ benefit from a complete waiver on import duty, excise duty and service tax on the capital goods or raw materials they procure.
JNPT’s Kumar said 40% of the proposed SEZ would be earmarked as Free Trade and Warehousing Zone and the remaining would be allocated for electrical, software and other industries.
He said the port is hiring architectural, master planning and engineering design consultants for its multipurpose SEZ.
“The land development will be undertaken in the next two months with the help of consultant. We will be investing Rs.1,000 crore from our cash balance of Rs.5,000 crore. We have already received proposals from big industries,” Kumar said, without disclosing names.
JNPT, which was established in 1989 to de-congest the Mumbai Port, handles 56% of the container cargo and is currently ranked 31st among the top 100 container ports of the world.
The SEZ is set to take off when the Mukesh Ambani-controlled Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone (NMSEZ), which is near to JNPT’s SEZ area, stalled due to an economic slowdown.
Reliance Logistics (Pvt.) Ltd, a unit of the Mukesh Ambani-run RIL, also holds a 55% stake in Rewas Ports Ltd, the company formed to develop and operate an all-weather, deep-water port at Rewas, just 10km south of JN Port.
Source : livemint.com