Coastal Economic Zones

Coastal Economic Zones
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Highlights

NITI Aayog, a policy think-tank of the government, is pushing for a 10-year corporation tax holiday for proposed coastal economic zones (CEZs) provided these generate a threshold of employment.  As per the plan, coastal states will have one or more CEZs.

NITI Aayog, a policy think-tank of the government, is pushing for a 10-year corporation tax holiday for proposed coastal economic zones (CEZs) provided these generate a threshold of employment. As per the plan, coastal states will have one or more CEZs.

The industrial clusters within these zones will enjoy the benefit of lower cost of movement by waterways. With the aim to provide impetus to the ‘Make In India’ initiative and promote port-led industrialisation, as many as 14 Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs) have been identified under the National Perspective Plan of Sagarmala.

CEZs will be aligned to relevant ports in the maritime states and will house Coastal Economic Units for setting up manufacturing facilities. The CEZs have been conceptualised as a spatial-economic region which could extend along 300-500 km of coastline and around 200-300 km inland from the coastline. Each CEZ will be an agglomeration of coastal districts within a State.

CEZs will provide the geographical boundary within which port led industrialization will be developed. The CEZs have been envisaged to tap synergies with the planned industrial corridors like Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor and Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

Despite tough global economic situation, developing the manufacturing sector can boost growth rates and harness India’s demographic dividend. Sagarmala is a holistic and integrated programme incorpoatingsCEZs and will transform the way the logistics are handled in the country. Detailed Master Plans for CEZs will be prepared by the Sagarmala Development Company and more projects will be identified.

India has envisaged $50-60 billion foreign investment for infrastructure and another $100 Billion towards industrial development for port-led economic growth in the maritime sector and inland waterways, water transport, coastal and cruise shipping and solar and wind energy generation to further boost the country’s growth momentum. The government hopes to add two percentage points in India’s GDP through creating world-class infrastructure.

India has 7,500-km coastline, 212 ports, 70 coastal districts, one billion tone cargo handling currently, 111 waterways and 90% of export-import trade (by volume) handled at ports. There is a huge potential for tapping hundreds of islands and lighthouses for tourism.

As part of the National Perspective Plan (NPP), prepared for the Sagarmala Programme, 29 port-based/coastal industrial clusters have been proposed across 14 Coastal Economic Zones. Andhra Pradesh will have two CEZs at Krishnapatnam and Visakhapatnam-Kakinada.

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