Shining Glory

If SEEPZ is an inspiring SEZ success story of sustainable development, other SEZs across Maharashtra are proving to be engines of economic growth in true sense.

- Shrivatsa S Joshi

SEEPZ Special Economic Zone(SEZ) just got bigger recently.This month the SEZ in the heart of the country's commercial capital, Mumbai is adding a new six-storey building in its sprawling 111-acre premises. The building, with a total built up area of over 80,000 sq ft, is exclusively designed for gem and jewellery and electronics manufacturing.

After five years, SEEPZ, one of the country's oldest special zones, is expanding again. The new building in the SEZ, which had been flooded with proposals to set up new units for a long time, can accommodate 24 units, which will be allotted soon.

SEEPZ, which houses units from gem and Jewellery - making up about 80 per cent of the zone's total turnover - IT and electronics, biotechnology and services sectors, has always had full occupancy. Besides, the past few years have seen a growing demand from the industry for more space at SEEPZ. In fact, the bullish sentiment at SEEPZ runs contrary to the mood in many SEZs across the country. Quite a few SEZs have had no takers, while promoters of some of these zones have surrendered them for waning demand.

"SEEPZ has always had an advantage of its location, hardly 5 km from Mumbai international airport's cargo complex and 30 km from the bustling port. Besides, it offers a unique combination of urban infrastructure, skilled labour and vast talent pool. Naturally, there has been a big demand for setting up units in SEEPZ," notes N P S Monga, the development commissioner (DC) of SEEPZ, who is in charge of all SEZs in Maharashtra, Goa, Diu and Daman.

Dramatic changes