Sandesh Prabhudesai
25 October 1999
Roping in Japanese investment, Goa is now planning to develop an Industrial Model Town, on the lines of the ones coming up in Gurgaon and Neemrana.
"This is the only way we can attract massive foreign investment here", says Rakesh Mehta, the finance secretary, admitting that the present state of infrastructure is a stumbling block in the industrial growth.
In fact industrial development has come to a grinding halt in Goa, especially due to the high court ban on new power connections. In addition, even the existing multinationals are crying for proper facilities of water, telecommunications and road network.
As Goa has historical trade links with Japanese due to mining exports since the Portuguese days, the authorities appear more confident of getting the proposal materialised.
IMT is being promoted by Japan in India to create an environment to transfer high technology and capital for export growth. It primarily focuses on developing industrial infrastructure to meet the needs of the Trans-National Corporations.
The IMT enables the country to have access to high access to high technology, leap frogs an area into the globalised environment and promotes ancillarisation around a nucleus of multinational corporation.
By developing infrastructure of highest quality, the IMT intends to bring in investment in hi tech and sophisticated technology as well as export oriented units. The authorities are thus planning to acquired around 400 acres of area along the national highway linking two major towns of Panaji and Margao.
The IMT, says Mehta, will consist of industrial, residential as well as entertainment areas. All the necessary infrastructure like power, water, roads, communication facilities etc would be developed by a development consortium with whom the MoU would be entered into.
Though final decision in this regard is still awaited, the Congress government led by Luizinho Faleiro has prominently placed the proposal in the draft industrial policy, which is expected to be finalised shortly.
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