Gujarat facing tough competition on investment front: Official

AHMEDABAD: With neighboring Maharashtra bagging some big-ticket industrial projects, a top official of the Gujarat government today conceded that the state is facing a tough competition in attracting investments, partly due to the expensive power.

Arvind Agarwal, Additional Chief Secretary, Gujarat Industries and Mines Department, said it was "a matter of concern" that some major projects went to Maharashtra.

He was speaking at an interactive session on ' Make in India at Gujarat', organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

"Since we have done very well in power sector in Gujarat, people invested here despite the fact that we gave them costly power. But now the power sector scenario is changing in other states too... People are moving to other states as uninterrupted power is also available there now," he said.

"You must have seen the reports that three to four major projects have gone to Maharashtra in just two weeks. It is a matter of concern for us.

"Maharashtra has now solved its electricity supply crisis. They have also built roads and ports, which are attracting new business," said Agarwal.

"Not just Maharashtra, states like Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and even Punjab are also bouncing back and giving a tough competition. Something must be done for high power cost in Gujarat," he said.

US car major General Motors, which entered India with a plant at Halol in Gujarat, has decided to close it down and expand its facility at Talegaon in Maharashtra.

More recently, Foxconn had announced a USD 5 billion investment in a manufacturing facility in Maharashtra, while Posco has decided to invest USD 3 billion in a steel plant in the same state.

Difficult land acquisition was another constraint for industrial projects in Gujarat, Agarwal added.