According to MIPL general manager for marketing, George Abraham, JTC, which had designed the master plan for the park, is reputed in south-east Asia and had reach in the region."JTC can be our link to promote the MIPL project in Singapore as well as the south-east Asian region, besides reaching out to a lot of multinational companies located in Singapore itself, who are looking out for expansion and seeking viable investment options," he said.

MIPL is hoping that the tie-up with JTC will add some muscle to its marketing efforts. The park authorities have planned to provide world class infrastructure for industrial units. The plans include roads, water supply and sewage network, high-speed telecommunication links, reliable power supply and quality landscaping of some 140 acres.

All these are aimed at combining easy access, functional utility and scenic grandeur in such a way that those who come in and set up their manufacturing base, develop pride and get the feeling of belonging to a unique venture.MIPL is laying the red carpet for investors. Among the many unusual concepts the park will feature, are the `one stop shop' service and the logistics centre. While the former will endeavour to provide all clearances required for setting up units from one centralised area, the latter will work as a hub within the park and ensure links with all modes of transport and provide first class logistics support to customers of thepark.

Besides helping to market the park, Mr Abraham said, JTC can help in the design and construction of ready-built factories and take on the operation and maintenance of the park on a long-term basis. JTC has the requisite expertise to do the work, he said.

MIPL has already signed a marketing pact with Mitsubishi Corporation. Mr Abraham said, a marketing campaign to position MIPL as a high-tech, world class industrial park will be launched soon. MIPL is set to participate in two important events-IT Asia Millennium in Mumbai (from November 29 to December 2, 2000) and the Infranet 2000 in Delhi (from December 14-16, 2000). According to Mr Abraham, Andersen Consulting has been commissioned to study potential industries that can come up, market conditions, ideal land-use pattern by manufacturing units and, other infrastructural needs. The study will indicate the marketing and pricing strategy that MIPL can adopt. Pricing strategy will be finalised by December this year.

The park is being developed in two phases. The first phase will involve development of 820 acres at a cost of around Rs 80 crore, which will cover besides land development, earth work, area grading and levelling, development of roads, water and sewage networks and treatment plants. Contracts for these have been awarded in nine packages and all amenities and facilities, including ready-built factories are expected to be ready by July 2001.

According to Mr Abraham, MIPL has received a positive response from 150 investors, including a multinational company from the US whose investment in the park could be in excess of a billion dollars if the deal is finalised.For now, MIPL wants to focus on attracting investments from hi-tech non-polluting industries such as auto ancillary, engineering, electronics, IT manufacturing and assembling and IT-enabled services.