K’taka to promote sector-specific industrial zones

The Karnataka government has decided to develop six cluster-based sector specific industrial zones to ensure balanced industrial growth across the state. Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) has been allocated Rs 500 crore for the year 2008-09 to undertake developmental work of these industrial zones.

According to large and medium scale minister Murugesh Rudrappa Nirani, the state will develop industrial zones to promote steel, cement, food processing, IT-BT, automobile and garments. The state has been planning to create such zones in different parts of the state taking account of area-specific raw materials, workforce, marketing facilities, proximity to ship yards and ports.

Steel zone will cover Bellary, Koppal, Raichur, Bagalkot, Haveri and Gadag districts as this belt is known for iron ore mining in the state. In Bellary district alone, according to figures available with the mines and mineral department, 86 licensed companies are mining iron ore. It is estimated that 40 million tonne of ore are mined in the state per annum with a major chunk coming from

Bellary region.

Currently JSW Steels Ltd, which did not have captive mines, has its integrated steel plant near Bellary while the $11 billion China-based Xinxing Group, along with its other Chinese and Indian partners, has announced of investing Rs 8,735 crore to set up a steel plant in Koppal district. With only a few steel companies located in Karnataka, most of the iron ore mined in the state has been exported.

An official attached to Karnataka Udyog Mitra said the government is expected to clear some more steel projects in Bellary area when its High Level Committee (HLC) convene meeting this month. The Udyog Mitra official said the HLC, which has power to clear projects worth Rs 50 crore and above, will also clear some more projects that could be promoted in the proposed sector specific industrial zones.

Among other zones, cement zone will cover Bagalkot, Belgaum, Chtradurga and Gulbarga districts while food processing zone will be set up at Bangalore Rural, Kolar, Shimoga, Bagalkot, Bijapur and Davangere districts, IT-BT zone at Mangalore, Mysore, Hubli-Dharward, Belgaum and automobile zone at Shimoga, Ramanagaram and Hubli-Dharward districts.

Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) Karnataka-Hosur chapter coordinator S Thiagarajan said the Karnataka government has approached the industry to establish auto ancillary units at its proposed automobile zone. Karnataka government principal secretary V Umesh has called for a meeting of ACMA and the state government in August to initiate the discussion in this direction, ACMA officials said.

Garment zone will be established in Bangalore Rural, Tumkur, Kolar, Mandya, Belgaum, Bidar and Dharward districts. With the work initiated to establish such zones, the Karnataka government has decided to hold a global investors? meet in January 2009 to attract large-scale capital investment in all sectors of the economy.