Special Investment Regions: In 17 Years, Only 3 Of Gujarat’s 14 Zones Go Live

As part of this move, the state Industry Department is focusing on specific locations for the upcoming Vibrant Investors Summit, guided by a newly prepared action plan. Special incentives and relaxations are on the cards for Special Investment Regions (SIRs) that have remained undeveloped for the past 17 years.

A senior Industry Department official said Gujarat had announced an Act and a corresponding policy in 2009 to develop 14 SIRs, initially shortlisting eight locations. Of these, seven were assigned to the Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board (GIDB), while the Bhavnagar region was later dropped due to land acquisition hurdles.

The official noted that all approved and proposed SIRs have been strategically mapped within the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor to ensure seamless connectivity. Yet, despite the ambitious blueprint, only three — Dholera, Mandal-Becharaji, and the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) at Dahej — are operational. The state government now aims to ramp up investor interest in the remaining regions.

In response to an RTI query, a GIDB public information officer confirmed that only three of the 13 approved SIRs are currently operational. The rest are still under development, spread across North, Central, South Gujarat, as well as the Saurashtra-Kutch regions. A total of 2,397 sq km of land is being acquired to bring these SIRs to life.

Three Active SIRs 

Of the three SIRs that are active, PCPIR in Dahej is spread across 453 sq km. This region has attracted investment worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore. It offers strong connectivity by road, rail, port, and air, and is home to petrochemicals and energy industries.

Covering 102 sq km between Ahmedabad and Mehsana, Mandal-Becharaji offers complete connectivity and has drawn investments worth Rs 12,000 crore. It is emerging as a hub for automobile and allied industries, along with commercial development, town planning, and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Dholera, spanning 360 sq km in Ahmedabad district, is aligned with the Dholera Smart City project. With nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in investments, the region is home to diverse sectors including defence, electronics, heavy engineering, aviation, pharma, manufacturing, and power.

Inactive SIRs Awaiting Investment Push

According to the Act, which mandated that an SIR could be proposed in areas where at least 100 sq km of land had been acquired, 10 more regions were identified and approved by the state government for development. But not much has moved in these. 

They include Halol-Savli covering 123 sq km, where the key focus was on engineering, electrical, and automobile ancillaries, with potential for plastics and electronics, as it has a strong base for manufacturing clusters.

Santalpur, covering 186 sq km of acquired land, was meant to be an agro-based hub for the processing of spices, seeds, fruits, and vegetables, with contract farming, dairy, solar power, and logistics as additional sectors. Meanwhile, Changodar, with 319 sq km of land, was projected as Gujarat’s industrial core, with steel and metal, plastics, and pharma units. Additional industries projected were agro-based, oil and gas, etc.

Covering 147 sq km, Pipavav, which enjoys a coastal advantage, was seen as a logistics hub, with spinning units and industries making pre-cast infrastructure. Similarly, Simar, covering 84 sq km, was to be driven by the dual growth engines of port-linked industry and renewable energy, and cover engineering, cement, food, and fish processing sectors.

At Navlakhi (182 sq km), the projection was for ceramics, automobiles, electronics, textiles, with a future focus on chemicals and petrochemicals, and diversification into heavy industry. At Okha (206 sq km), the plan was for general manufacturing, CROs, biotech, tourism, backed by resource-based growth in mineral industries and auto ancillaries.

Anjar (237 sq km) was modelled for port-centric growth with shipping and agro-processing industries, backed by engineering and mineral sectors. Viramgam (109 sq km) was envisioned as an emerging industrial hub for automobiles, fertilisers, pharma, backed by healthcare and engineering.

Last but not the least, Aliyabet (169 sq km) was seen as growing into Gujarat’s new entertainment and eco-tourism destination, with plans for a film city, amusement zone, marine engineering, golf course, and aquaculture.