Dholera set to regain its lost glory, now as Special Investment Region

Ahmedabad, August 26 Dholera, which was a flourishing port in Gujarat with a prosperous trade till early 18th century, is all set to regain its lost glory. For, the state government is planning to develop it as a Special Investment Region (SIR), the first in Gujarat.

Located some 140 km from Ahmedabad at the Gulf of Cambay, Dholera is expected to be in the spotlight at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit, scheduled for January next year.

An international merchant airport, a metro rail between Dholera and Gandhinagar via Ahmedabad, a 180-km-long ‘spine road’ connecting Dholera and Ahmedabad with both sides humming with commercial activities, and a 4,000-MW imported coal-based ultra-mega power plant (UMPP) at Dholera are the major infrastructure projects for the SIR planned on the Delhi-Mumbai Freight Corridor.

“All these make Dholera an ideal site for industrial development,” said Bhagyesh Jha, Director of Information. “If SEZ was the buzzword in the past summits, this time, it will be SIR. And, Dholera has been identified as the first SIR site to be developed,” he added.

The official said that detailed proposals have been sent out inviting potential domestic and global companies at Dholera. The government has acquired 1,000 hectares of land at this site in Ahmedabad district.

Deep-sea channel and tidal amplitude of order of 10 m made Dholera a good port in the ancient times. Arabs, Babylonians and Caucasians conducted import and export activities through Dholera. Sedimentation in the Gulf of Cambay led to the shrinking of approach channels to Dholera. There started unprecedented and hitherto unknown siltation at Dholera and the coast grew beyond the harbour into the sea of yesteryears.

However, its strategic location has once again put it into the spotlight, as the Ahmedabad-Dholera industrial area lies on the 100-km Delhi-Mumbai Freight Corridor. It is also connected to the National Highway 8B.

The picture is likely to become clearer by this December or January when different Memoranda of Understanding will be inked during the summit. It has been projected as the investment zone for petrochemicals, chemicals, textile, drugs, ship building and breaking. While an SEZ caters to specific products and process with export in mind, SIR will include a variety of sectors that will primarily cater to the domestic market.

In March, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of the Union Industries and Commerce Ministry, and the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB) had signed an agreement on setting up an Industrial Corridor Company. It had appointed GIDB as the nodal agency to develop the Dholera SIR.

The port at Dholera will be privately developed by the Adani Ports Ltd, J K White Cement Company and others at an estimated cost of Rs 4,000 crore. A project report has been approved and a go ahead given to the developers by the Gujarat Maritime Board. General cargos, containers and chemicals will be handled at the port, which is set to handle a trade estimate of two million tonnes by 2010

Source by expressindia