The Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro), an official promotion body for trade and investment, and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) have signed a memorandum of understanding to set up an exclusive industrial park for Japanese companies in the Pune region.
The park will come up on 1,200 acres at the Supa Parner industrial estate in Ahmednagar, around 75 km from Pune.
Around 27 companies have evinced interest in establishing a base here, and a special cell will be established to process and expedite the applications, an MIDC official said. Land acquisition for the project is underway and is expected to take six months.
Pune, being home to large automobile OEMs, is a potential area for auto components sourcing with huge consumer market, Takehiko Furukawa, Director-General, Jetro-Mumbai, said.
“Japanese companies are noticing huge business opportunities in Pune, and the flourishing automobile industry in this region provides a major investment opportunity for Japanese auto component manufacturers in the proposed industrial zone,” he added.
To date, India is home to 962 Japanese companies across 1,804 locations, including 76 in Pune. Jetro’s first industrial park in India is at Neemrana in Rajasthan where 30-odd Japanese companies have invested over Rs 2,500 crore.