Title - Automobile hubs in Gujarat to get last-mile railway connectivity

A special purpose vehicle would be floated by a government agency in which the companies in the estate would be invited to participate, said a government official

Automobile companies in Gujarat have a reason to cheer. Soon, auto-hubs in the state will have direct railway connectivity from the backyard of the manufacturing plants to ports like Mundra and Pipavav.

Now, there would be direct linkage from Sanand to the ports of Mundra and Pipavav, and there are plans to develop similar last-mile connectivity for Maruti Suzuki in Mandal-Becharaji region as well. The idea is to offer best-in-class infrastructure to companies that have decided to invest in the state, claimed a senior official in the state government, adding, "Companies opt for Gujarat over other states because of the infrastructure on offer."

A senior official in the state industry department said the railway line that passes through Chharodi, near Sanand will be extended right to the doorstep of the Tata Motors and Ford India factories in the area. "The Chharodi line will be extended right till the backyard of the Tata Motors plant at Sanand. In the vicinity are plants of Ford India, Hitachi-HiRel and Nestle. All the major companies in the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) industrial park that has come up in Sanand would stand to benefit from this move."

He further said a special purpose vehicle (SPV) would be floated by a government agency in which the companies in the estate would be invited to participate. "Already, Tata Motors and Ford India have agreed to to pick up equity in the SPV, other companies in the GIDC estate would also be approached," he claimed. Direct railway connectivity between the Sanand GIDC and the ports of Mundra and Pipavav is likely to take two to three years. Government sources informed that the Gujarat Industrial Development Board or GIDB is likely to float the SPV.

As for the proposed Maruti Suzuki plant, there is a plan of converting an existing metre gauge line into broad gauge. This is, however, a railways project. A broad gauge railway line connecting Viramgam (near Sanand) and Mehsana (near Becharaji where the Maruti plant is to come up) already passes through Detroj in the Mandal-Becharaji region. Apart from this, there is a metre gauge line connecting Katosan Road to Ranuj via Becharaji.

The official said the Indian Railways has already ordered a feasibility study on the gauge conversion plan for converting the metre gauge line into a broad gauge one. "There is a plan to convert the 20-25 km metre gauge railway line into broad gauge, and the Railways has already initiated a feasibility study on the same. There is also plan for a 3-5 km extension so that line connects the Maruti plant," he added.

The Gujarat government is working on attracting investments from Japanese companies near the Maruti Suzuki plant. As Business Standard had reported, the state government had earmarked 500 hectares for Japan-based companies to set up shop in the Mandal-Becharaji region close to the Maruti plant.

"The aim is to draw mid-sized Japanese companies into the park, and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) is playing a crucial role in attracting investment into the cluster," a senior official had informed then.

According to latest developments, JETRO has already appointed Kajima Corporation to conduct a feasibility study on developing a Japanese industrial estate in the region. An industry department source informed that there is a plan to develop an autocomponent park over 1,000 acres in the region.

Japan was one of the partner countries in the Vibrant Gujarat Summit of 2013. A huge delegation led by JETRO, comprising over 150 companies visited the state during the summit. State government sources claimed that primarily companies in the electronics space have shown keen interest in coming to Gujarat.

A recycling solution provider Japan Environment Planning or Jeplan is looking at setting up a mobile phone recycling plant in Gujarat.

While the location is yet to be decided, it could come up at the Japanese cluster planned at Hansalpur, said a government official.