SEZ to be completed in five to six years

The multi-product ONGC-SEZ in Mangalore will be completed within five to six years, ONGC-SEZ Chief Operating Officer (COO) A G Pai informed on Saturday.

Inaugurating a symposium on entrepreneurial opportunities provided by Mangalore SEZ, ‘Samvada’, by OMEGA and Centre for Small Business Management, TAPMI at Taj Manjuran he said all units will be whetted thoroughly by Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF).

The Hyderabad-based NEERI will be submitting its Rapid Environment Impact Assessment (REIA) by next month. 27 applications have been submitted so far. We have requested the entrepreneurs to submit their requirement for land, water, power and the effluents generated.

Meanwhile, work on a petrochemical complex and an LNG re-gasification plant has begun, he informed. SEZ is proposed to be spread over 1,320 hectares and will have a processing area of 700 hectares.

Once the process of acquiring land is complete, SEZ plans to raise foreign equity for its project. When completed, it is expected generate employment for 1,70,000 persons and the exports from SEZ in initial years has been estimated around Rs 5,000 crore annually.

Cochin SEZ Development Commissioner C J Mathew said only a few SEZs were operational by notification. He also clarified that SEZs will not lead to revenue loss. Kanara Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President A Srinivas Rao said the industrial policy would not benefit local industries in DK district.

‘‘Equating Mangalore to the level of Bangalore will deprive local industries of many privileges like subsidies,’’ he said and urged entrepreneurs to ensure that Mangalore is not equated to the level of Bangalore. ‘‘First let the investments flow into the district and then we will think about raising the zonal level,’’ he said.

TAPMI Director Dr D Nagabrahmam, FKCCI Secretary (Economics and International Trade) Prasanna Srinivas and Kanara Small Industries Association President K Ramachandra Bhat were present.