Centre shifts focus to large SEZ units

Centre shifts focus to large SEZ units
The Economic Times, June 19, 2009, Page 9

Shobhana Chadha & G Ganapathy Subramaniam, ET NOW

THE commerce department is planning to speed up implementation of multiproduct special economic zones (SEZs) through its active intervention, a move that has significant implications for mega SEZ promoters like Reliance, Posco, Ispat Industries, India Bulls and DLF.

In the same vein, the department is also planning to go slow on approving new SEZ projects for promoters who are yet to implement cleared projects. A review meeting has been fixed for Friday to identify the problems faced by promoters in implementing multi-product SEZs.

“Implementation of large SEZs is a priority now, and we need to resolve the problems faced by them,” said top commerce department officials on condition of anonymity. A number of multi-product SEZs, including Mukesh Ambani’s mammoth projects in Haryana and Maharashtra, are facing obstacles such as deadlocks over land acquisition.

One large SEZ can easily outdo exports from a bunch of small SEZs, reaching turnovers of billions of dollars within a couple of years of implementation, officials think. A number of other SEZ promoters, including those implementing projects like Mahindra Reality, Ansal Properties & Infrastructure, Omaxe, Videocon Realty Infrastructure and Parsvnath may also attend Friday’s meeting. The government wants to keep a close watch on the implementation of multi-product SEZs and the commerce department would act like a single window facilitating clearances, the sources said.