Twin industrial hubs in Pithampur: MP govt looks for financier

The Madhya Pradesh government has set the ball rolling to build two world-class industrial hubs on 1,200-acre land in Pithampur industrial area earmarked for investors from Japan and Korea.

Madhya Pradesh is one of the six states where the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC), a USD 90-billion government-sponsored infrastructure project with aid from Japan, is setting up industrial zones to spur development.

The proposal, a part of the early-bird projects under Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow investment node of the DMICDC, has got the go-ahead from its chief executive officer and managing director Alkesh Kumar Sharma, an industry department official said. Sharma was also shown a presentation of the Narmada water supply project for Pithampur.

The government agency has finalised a consultant, M/s Stupa, for the project and work is expected to start by August 2016.

“While a Japan industrial town will be set up in one of the hubs, the government is also in talks with Korean investors. The process to link the four-lane highway with the proposed industrial hubs by a wide road is underway,” the official said.

The government recently took back excess land of the 4,100 acres allocated for a national auto testing track project at the site in Pithampur, about 33km from Indore and 4km from Rau-Khalghat highway.

The infrastructure development for the industrial hubs is estimated to cost about `550 crore, and the state government is looking for a financier to fund the project.

“The state government agency will allocate fully developed plot to the investors,” Audyogik Kendra Vikas Nigam (AKVN) Indore managing director Kumar Purushottam said.

From golf course to Japanese restaurant and Japanese language school, the government will leave no stone unturned to woo Japanese investors, experts said, adding the positive factor was that Japanese companies have already invested in Pithampur.

“It’s a very positive development for Madhya Pradesh. Apart from industrial infrastructure, the key will be development of social and other infrastructure such as shopping complexes, schools and health centres,” CII MP council chairman Girish Mangla said.

The Madhya Pradesh government has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japan External Trade Organisation to facilitate Japanese investments in the proposed industrial township.

The government will organize an investment seminar in the state for the Japanese companies with the help of JETRO. The date of the seminar is being worked out, a state industry official said.