Dahej SEZ ropes in agri varsity for green belt project

but DSL will provide the area inside the SEZ to AAU as a co-developer.

AAU Vice-Chancellor

M C Varshneya said: “Talks are in the final stages and we are collaborating with DSL for the green belt. We are working out the finer details on how to go about it. We are doing it.” AAU will be the first university to be a part of co-development in any SEZ in India. DSL is a multi-product SEZ and part of Dahej Petroleum,Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) and is within the Delhi-Mumbai Investment Corridor (DMIC). It is co-promoted by the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) and petroleum major ONGC.

R J Shah,CEO,DSL said: “We need to have a green belt as per the guidelines of the SEZ Act. So,we decided to rope in AAU for the development. Along with the development of the green belt,we will also provide land to them for horticulture. We had the discussions,but the feasibility of the project is yet to be ascertained.” DSL has come up with an innovative development model for its SEZ. The promoters are entering into contracts with the companies who are planning their units inside the SEZ.

DSL has entered into a contract with Torrent Power to provide electricity to the entire SEZ. Torrent is developing a 1,500-MW power plant in the SEZ. Besides,it has also entered into contracts with the Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (GSPL) for gas and petroleum products,and BSNL for developing the communications network. The Taj Group has been awarded the contract to set up hotels inside the SEZ.

Request to de-notify land from SEZ approved

The Board of Approval (BoA) for SEZ has approved the request of Dahej SEZ Limited to de-notify 06.57.84 hectares from the SEZ,thereby making the total area of the SEZ 14.56.34 hectares after the developer refunded the tax and duty benefits as per the SEZ rules. The decision was taken at the meeting of the BoA on February 11. The land has been allocated to petronet LNG for the development of the port,said R J Shah.