Seepz needs revamping but govt can't spend; industry should come forward: Goyal

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the 105-acre Seepz complex in the financial capital needs a complete revamp but made it clear that the government will not be able to do so given the paucity of resources.

Instead, he suggested that the industry stakeholders should tie up with the government for the revamp, promising to facilitate all the efforts.

It can be noted that earlier, Goyal had announced a Rs 200 crore grant for the redevelopment of buildings in the 1973-inaugurated Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ), a special economic zone in suburban Mumbai. The facility is set to clock exports of USD 3 billion in FY22.

Speaking at the facility, which currently houses a slew of units engaged in processing precious metals, Goyal exhorted the industry to come forward and revamp the facility by Diwali of 2023, when it will be completing 50 years.

He made it clear that the government does not have the balance-sheet strength to support a revamp, and the industry, which is enjoying cheaper rents and other facilities, will have to do it.

The minister said he will speak to local authorities in the financial capital to see if the “global floor space index (FSI)” can be availed for the properties, so that bigger spaces can be constructed on the same land. Citing the low rents paid by the owners of the 150 units, Goyal said a public-private partnership scheme can be arranged where the government assures no hike in property rentals for a longer period of 8-10 years if the unit owner revamps the place. The government can build space on empty land and then bid it out to units in a transparent manner, he said, adding that the government is also working on a policy for unitholders to exit easily. Pragati Maidan is being redeveloped into a world-class exhibition facility at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore currently, Goyal said, adding that the facility in New Delhi is not having the luxury of being over 100 acres like in the case of Seepz. Earlier, Goyal held an interactive meeting with the industry players where he was told about the need for revamping, older machinery and the insistence of buyers abroad for modern equipment and swank facilities to certify a unit. Wondering why the state-run Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation even exists in Seepz, Goyal said he has passed an order to take it out of the exports-focused zone. He said the guest house has also been ordered to close, and appealed to the industry to come forward with specific cases where state-run entities are not utilising the land to its potential. The units in Seepz should start working towards the aim of revamping it on a war footing, Goyal said, adding that he will take quarterly review meets on the same.

In its presentation, Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said that by May 2023, it will execute the Rs 70-crore facilitation centre being constructed through a grant from the government. Meanwhile, Goyal said there are large tracts of areas in special economic zones (SEZs) are lying vacant across the country, and the government is mulling to aid their promoters to exit the status and deploy the land for other uses, Goyal said. The same piece of land can be used for industrial or any other purpose as allowed by the local state government rules, Goyal said.

“I do believe there are large amounts of areas which are lying vacant across SEZs across the country,” he added.

The minister said there are a few takers for the available land within SEZs as well in almost all the sectors except a few ones like gems and jewellery.

“We are trying to ease the system of SEZs going forward and make it easier for people to exit from the SEZ status. We are also doing partial derecognition of existing SEZs so that areas which no more have demand can be de-notified,” he said.