A major force in infrastructure projects

Nisha Das
24 March 2004

Sea King Infrastructure Ltd, developers of three of India's largest private sector infrastructure projects, Gujarat Pipavav Port, Gujarat Pipavav LNG Ltd and Pipavav Railway Corporation Ltd, is all set to take up another challenging infrastructure project, Dronagri Special Economic Zone — India's first special economic zone. The company is also planning a similar zone in Mumbai, Maha Mumbai Special Economic Zone.

Dronagiri and Sea King's proposed Maha Mumbi SEZs are very close to each other. Will this lead to a duplication of infrastructure in the state?
No. The two proposed zones are promoted by Sea King Infrastructure and our consortium partners — Videocon, the Hiranandani group and the Avinash Bhosle group. We are in the process of finalising plans to merge the two zones. The merger will take care of the duplication of infrastructure.

For instance, both the zones had planned to set up a captive power plant, residential complexes, a chemical zone, etc. However, by merging the two zones, we can avoid the duplication of these facilities. Yet, the total investment for the project will remain almost the same, ie around Rs 4,800 crore.

What will be the total area of the merged SEZ and what will be CIDCO's equity holding after the merger?
The size of the new SEZ will be more than 700 acres. The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has already completed the land acquisition process and we will also complete it soon. At this stage, it is difficult to say what will be the equity structure of the merged zones.

However, we are trying to follow CIDCO's equity structure pattern where the corporation will get a 26 per cent stake. In doing this, the holding of other equity holder will either come down or go up, All these issues are under discussion and may take few months to finalise.

But, will the new zone be as large as a Positra SEZ which you had proposed building in Gujarat. ?
Yes, Positra SEZ had 17,000 acres of land that can increase to 65,000 acres as it is developed. However, the government delayed the allocation of the land for the project. At the same time. The Maharasthra government had sent some positive signals to encourage us to shift the project from Gujarat to Maharshtra.