Mumbai: The government has approved the setting up of five special economic zones (SEZs) exclusively for automobiles and automobile component manufacturing, involving an investment of Rs3,593.95 crore, minister of state for commerce and industry Jairam Ramesh informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

The government has given formal approvals for two auto SEZs, one each in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, while it has granted in-principle approvals for setting up another three SEZs in Haryana, Maharashtra and West Bengal, he said.

These include a two-wheeler project by Bajaj Auto Ltd in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, entailing an investment of Rs200 crore and another one to be set up by Adityapur Industrial Area Development Authority in Adityapur, Jharkhand, at an investment of Rs30.58 crore.

The government has also given in-principle approval for Shreeaumji Developers' Rs447 crore auto SEZ project, Parsvnath Developers' Rs119.17 crore project by and Bengal SREI Infrastructure Development's Rs2,797.2 crore auto SEZ project, he said, adding the biggest auto SEZ, being developed by SREI, would come in an area of 200 hectares in Kharagpur, West Bengal.

Two more auto SEZs are proposed by Nashik Industrial Park Pvt Ltd and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd, envisaging investment of Rs1, 541.53 crore, Ramesh said.

As per the provisions of SEZ Act, the letter of approval issued to various developers is valid for three years, within which effective steps towards implementation of the project must be undertaken, he said.

"This validity can be further extended for a period of two years by the Board of Approval. In case of in principle approval, the letter of approval issued is valid for a period of one year, within which the developer is required to submit suitable proposal for formal approval," Ramesh said in his written reply.

The validity period in case of in principle approval can also be further extended for a period of two years by the Board of Approval, he added.