India’s northern state of Haryana, which borders the Indian capital Delhi, is keen to attract foreign companies to invest in a number of sectors, defined as “priority sectors,” particularly infrastructure and logistics, which the state is keen to expand and upgrade.
With this objective in mind, the state’s chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar (the equivalent title of a governor of a US state), accompanied by Haryana’s industry and commerce minister Capt. Abhimanyu, senior government officials and the state’s business leaders, recently visited a number of cities in the US and Canada on a 10-day North American tour.
“Our infrastructure projects should be of interest to US corporations which have already made a mark in other regions where they have been involved in a number of mega projects. These projects are aimed to bolster trade and business,” Khattar said in an interview with Asia Cargo News on the sidelines of a press conference hosted by Indian consul general Dyaneshwar Mulay in New York.
Juggling with figures, the chief minister said that with 1.3% of the total geographical area of the country, Haryana contributed almost 3.4% to India’s GDP; Haryana’s 2013-14 per capita income at US$2,084 was considerably higher than the national average of US$1,170.
Khattar added that Haryana would welcome investments and technology from companies which have experience in undertaking infrastructure projects.
“Infrastructure and logistics are priority sectors for Haryana, which has a strategic business location in the country. Also, Haryana has a well developed automotive sector, and is interested in attracting investments in other equally important sectors such as defense, aerospace etc. Our new policy, which we call the Enterprises Promotion Policy, instead of just industrial policy, is business-friendly. The Enterprises Promotion Policy has been designed to attract investments of US$20 billion, which will generate some 400,000 jobs in the state,” Khattar explained.
The chief minister emphasized that infrastructure projects, particularly the road and railway network, as well as connectivity to ports and airports, would facilitate not only traffic but also the smooth distribution and transhipment of goods that will also have a strong economic impact not only on the domestic market but also on foreign trade. The creation of “smart highways,” as Haryana delegates were calling the road network, has generated opportunities for companies engaged in infrastructure projects. As an example, the 135 km Eastern Peripheral Expressway, equipped with state-of-the-art technological gadgets, is being touted as the country’s “first and smartest highway stretch with features of the most intelligent traffic system.”
The chief minister confirmed that work on another mega-expressway project, the Western Peripheral Expressway – also known as Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway (KMPE) – has begun. The Haryana state government also plans to set up an aviation hub in Haryana. “This [highway] will facilitate transportation of goods by air. The air-sea cargo transportation combine would work well,” said Sanjeev Kaushal, the chief minister’s principal secretary, who was a member of the Haryana delegation.
The development of the KMPE, which the Haryana delegates described as a global corridor, is expected to have world-class infrastructure features that will bolster trade and economic interaction not only between states within India but also with major world markets through connectivity with the country’s major seaports and airports. “There will be an entire catalogue of economic activities relative to this corridor, making it a growth centre,” Khattar said. According to some of the delegates, the KMPE will stretch to a total of 135.65 km and cost the equivalent of between US$4 billion and US$5 billion.
The KMPE is expected to provide strong linkages between the industrial units in the special economic zones and industrial clusters within the state.
The chief minister’s delegation maintained that the expressway will help in the smooth and quick transportation of surplus food grains, milk products, fruits and vegetables from Haryana and neighboring states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir to other parts of the country. It will also provide faster connectivity with international airports in India for vehicles coming from the northern region of the country, reducing traffic bottlenecks around Delhi.
The expressway will be of crucial importance in the Indian government’s plans to establish the much-debated Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) between Delhi and Mumbai, two of the country’s busiest traffic and trading points. The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), an ambitious federal mega infrastructure project, will run through the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Haryana’s state government believes that the DMIC project has the potential to double employment in seven years, triple industrial output in nine years and quadruple exports in eight to nine years.
There will be flanking measures such as setting up special investment regions with a minimum area of 200 square kilometres and industrial areas with a minimum area of 100 square kilometres.
“The goal is to create world-class infrastructure served by multi-modal connectivity for freight movement, logistics hubs, domestic and international air connectivity, reliable power supply, quality and socially sustainable infrastructure and globally competitive environment,” the chief minister said.
But the chief minister also spoke of other major infrastructure projects which the state is planning to implement, including modernization of its existing assets and expansion of roads, railways and other infrastructure. Such projects, the government hopes, will attract foreign companies to Haryana.
Haryana, Khattar said, is also interested in attracting investments in areas such as food processing, pharmaceuticals, information technology, automotive parts and components, defense production, etc, sectors which will need to be flanked by strong logistics support. Khattar said the state has put in place investor-friendly industrial policies and transparent investment procedures aimed at ensuring ease-of-doing business, and “generally making life easier for foreign investors.”
Khattar also called on Dannel P. Malloy, the governor of Connecticut. The two agreed to develop a long-term partnership between their states to share economic and business experiences. Connecticut is home to some of the top US corporations, including 17 of the Fortune 100 companies. Malloy said that he would garner support from Connecticut-based companies for engaging in Haryana and, generally, in India; a number of infrastructure and logistics companies in Connecticut are already known to have a strong interest in India.
The World Bank, according to the Haryana delegation, is also looking into investment opportunities in several areas, including multi-modal logistics hubs, in Haryana.
Haryana, meanwhile, is allocating land for the establishment of dry ports near railway stations so that facilities are available for agricultural produce transportation. Procurement and distribution of wheat, for example, is a crucial issue for the state because wheat cultivation is a major agricultural activity.
By Manik Mehta
International Correspondent | New York
