Freight corridor: World Bank,UPSIDC to work together

A nine-member delegation from the World Bank Group,in a meeting with senior state officials on wednesday,discussed the joint strategy planning for three regional growth clusters along the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor

A nine-member delegation from the World Bank Group,in a meeting with senior state officials on wednesday,discussed the joint strategy planning for three regional growth clusters along the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC).

While the World Bank,it was decided in the meeting,would prepare structural plan for the three clusters – Auraiya-Kannauj-Kanpur,Agra-Aligarh,and Allahabad-Varanasi – Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation would be the nodal agency assisting it.

The delegation,which included lead urban specialist Barjor Mehta,consulting economist and planner David Dowal,and senior country economist Denis Medvedev,met Industrial Development Commissioner Alok Ranjan and Principal Secretary,Infrastructure and Industries,S P Singh.

UP is the biggest beneficiary (about 57 per cent of the project area would fall

under it) and so the preparation of structure plan is significant in order to prevent unorganised growth in the future, Singh said.

While the project would cover 1,049 km in UP,its remaining 791 km would

be shared by Punjab,Haryana,Bihar,Jharkhand,West Bengal and some portion of New Delhi.

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Meanwhile,in Delhi,PM Manmohan Singhs inter-ministerial group,submitted its report after conducting a preliminary analysis on setting up of the Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor along EDFC.

The group has recommended to cover 20 cities of seven states besides recommending that each state promote at least one manufacturing cluster of about 10 sq km area in the first phase.

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