Processing area of multi-services SEZs to be raised to 50%

ARUN S
Posted online: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 at 0000 hours IST

NEW DELHI, MAR 13 : Increasing the processing area in multi-services
Special Economic Zones (SEZ) from 35% to 50% of their total area as well
as directly giving formal approval to those proposals with land are some
of the amendments in the SEZ Rules which would be notified by the Centre
this week.
At present, even those SEZ proposals with land free of any legal
hassles, would have to get in-principle nod by the Board of Approval
before formal approval.

Officials said the commerce ministry had already had discussions
regarding the amendments with the revenue department and would notify it
this week itself.

Earlier, multi-services SEZs (minimum area of 100-hectare each) were
treated on a par with huge multi-product SEZs (minimum area of 1,000
hectares) and were required to keep aside only 35% of their total area
as processing area, housing units which would contribute to exports.
Remaining area, called the non-processing area, would have social
amenities, including housing.

Only one multi-services SEZ (Uppal Developer Pvt Ltd's 106-hectare SEZ
in Gurgaon) has so far been notified.

Four proposals to set up multi-services SEZs have got formal approval.
These include Uppal Housing Ltd's 109-hectare SEZ and Bentex Towers Pvt
Ltd's 168-hectare SEZ, both in Gurgaon. The other two are 242 hectare
SEZ by Claridges Hotels Pvt Ltd and 400-hectare SEZ by Marathon Pachin
Infrastructure, both in Raigad (Maharashtra).

OPEN SEZ-AME
• 4 proposals to set up multi-services SEZs have got formal approval:
Uppal Housing Ltd, Bentex Towers Pvt Ltd, Claridges Hotels Pvt Ltd &
Marathon Pachin Infrastructure

Another four proposals for multi-services SEZs have got the in-principle
nod. These include Shapoorji Pallonji &Co Ltd's 100 hectare SEZ in
Nagpur, Rockman Project Ltd's 100 hectare SEZ in Gurgaon, Housing
Development Infrastructure Ltd's 180 hectare SEZ in Thane and 121
hectare SEZ by New Chennai Township Pvt Ltd at Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu.

SEZ Rules were first amended earlier in August, 2006. The major changes
included the minimum processing area for a multi-product SEZ being
raised to 35% from 25%.

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