Centre Updates Parliament on Progress of 12 Industrial Smart City Projects.

The government has approved 12 new industrial smart city projects with a total cost of ₹28,602 crore (including land cost), aimed at developing trunk infrastructure packages, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal announced in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Under the Industrial Corridor Programme, the state governments provide land, while the Government of India, through the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT), contributes equity for the development of internal trunk infrastructure components. The construction of these infrastructure projects is expected to take 36 to 48 months, starting from the appointment of the EPC contractor.

Each industrial city or node within the National Industrial Corridor Development Program will be managed by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), with potential private sector involvement as deemed appropriate by the state government. The SPV is empowered to explore innovative infrastructure funding and delivery mechanisms, such as user fees, pricing innovations, and public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements. The state government may also seek bilateral or multilateral funding for the development of these smart cities.

The focus sectors for each industrial smart city will vary, determined by market demand assessments. These sectors include heavy engineering, automotive and ancillaries, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, electronics, IT and IT-enabled services, food processing, aerospace, semiconductors, and nanotechnology, among others.

ET