Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will review the Jodhpur, Pali, Marwar Industrial Area (JPMIA), one of the 12 smart industrial townships announced in the Union Budget 2024-25, on Aug 27. The township is expected to attract investments of approximately Rs 19,000 crore across sectors including solar component manufacturing, handicrafts, furniture, textiles, and heavy engineering goods.Sources said chief secretary Sudhansh Pant will attend the meeting to update on the developments within the township, which spans 3,600 hectares. RIICO, the implementing agency, has already acquired over 641 hectares of land, with the acquisition of an additional 1,086 hectares in the final stages. Recently, RIICO issued tenders worth Rs 465 crore for various civil works pertaining to the township’s development. “Tenders for another Rs 200 crore will be floated in two months,” an official said.The project’s development is estimated at Rs 922 crore, with the Union govt sanctioning Rs 322 crore and approving a soft loan of Rs 105 crore. JPMIA is situated within the influence area of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and is 30 km from Jodhpur and 60 km from Marwar railway junction, along the dedicated freight corridor (DFC) extending from Dadri near Delhi to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai.“Today, goods from Delhi to JNPT take over four days by road. But the DFC reduces it to 24 hours. The industrial units in JPMIA will benefit from DFC as not only will goods reach faster, but the freight charges will be 40% less compared to road transportation,” said RIICO MD Shivangi Swarnkar. Plans include developing a multi-modal hub near the industrial township over 280 hectares, providing access to road and rail connectivity.Of the 3,604 hectares required for the projects, RIICO needs to acquire an additional 2,000 hectares. However, it currently holds 600 hectares of govt land, facilitating easier transfer. The Union govt announced the projects in the 2024-25 Budget. Other projects nationwide include Khurpia in Uttarakhand, Rajpura-Patiala in Punjab, Dighi in Maharashtra, Palakkad in Kerala, Agra and Prayagraj in UP, Gaya in Bihar, Zaheerabad in Telangana, Orvakal, and Kopparthy in Andhra Pradesh.
