Each of 12 smart cities to be a dedicated industrial hub

New Delhi: The upcoming 12 smart cities will be developed as dedicated industrial hubs, each specific to a certain sector, officials said.

While the one in Agra is proposed as a hub for electric vehicles and electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM), Palakkad could focus on medicines and botanicals. The industrial smart city in Gaya is being developed to generate maximum employment by setting up food processing, light engineering and metal-related industries.

Last month, the Union Cabinet approved setting up of 12 industrial smart cities with an overall investment of ₹28,602 crore.

"All cities will have specific and focused industrial hubs. The construction of these cities will take around three years," said an official, adding that contractors would be onboarded by March.

These cities will span across 10 states such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala and Telangana and six major industrial corridors. They will function more like industrial cities, where residential and commercial setups would co-exist, have plug and play infrastructure with potable drinking water, 24 hours electricity and would be based on the 'walk-to-work' concept.

In Maharashtra, while Bidkin is coming up as an auto hub, Dighi is being developed as a project that would lead to port-led industrialisation and industry-led urbanisation while promoting ecotourism.

"Dighi and Krishnapatnam will be important for port-led industrialisation and industry-led urbanisation," said Rajat Kumar Saini, managing director, National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation, adding that all projects have been mapped with PM Gatishakti to aid ease of business.

Hospitality is also identified as another sector in Gaya while hospitals are showing interest in Agra.

These 12 cities have an investment potential of ₹1.5 lakh crore and employment potential of 1 million direct jobs and up to 3 million indirect jobs.

Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and Taiwan have shown interest in having dedicated industrial space in these cities. Officials said Switzerland has shown interest promoted by India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA), under which New Delhi has received an investment commitment of $100 billion over next 15 years. "Because of EFTA, these countries are interested in investing. They want local partners," the official said.