In spite of reluctance to commit large investments in industrial areas controlled by the Maharashtra government, the Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn has still not walked away from the State.

At a recent meeting between Foxconn and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) SEZ management, the company has said that it was keen to set up a manufacturing facility over 250 hectares.

Foxconn’s interest

The CEO of the JNPT SEZ, S Sittarasu told BusinessLine on the sidelines of the Magnetic Maharashtra event that Foxconn managers had made several visits to the SEZ. They have already signed up for expressions of interest. In the last meeting, which was held on February 7, they were very serious about the site and want to take the project ahead.

Out of the 277 hectares of available land, 27 hectares have been earmarked for other companies. Foxconn is ready to take up the remaining 250 hectares. The JNPT management expected at least ₹7,000 crore investment at the sea facing SEZ and 1.25 lakh jobs. For developing the SEZ land, the port has already committed ₹400 crore and civil works have already commenced, he said.

In August 2015, the electronic manufacturing giant had announced it will invest $5 billion over the next five years in Maharashtra. The facility in Maharashtra was to focus on research and development as well as manufacturing.

The Maharashtra government, which had signed a MoU with Foxconn, had committed to providing the Taiwan-based company 1,500 acres for its plant. The State government through its industrial development arm Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has zeroed in on some parcels but the deal never worked out.

Sittarasu said that all the civil, construction and development work required for a plug and play industrial zone would be completed this year after which industries would be able to operate from the SEZ.

The SEZ is not just a parcel of flat industry land. The land is located within the JNPT port, within 5 km of port operations. JNPT being a major port and commercial hub, the SEZ land is both complementary and supplementary to the port.

Sittarasu pointed that as 50 per cent of the country’s international cargo movement takes place from the port, the SEZ has a natural advantage. It has a developed water, rail and road connectivity and soon air connectivity would be added with the development of the Navi Mumbai International Airport. The project will help in regional development and employment generation.

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