Gulf of Kutch
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Gateway of Indian business
The Times of India, Jun 28 2015
Kalpesh Damor & Premal Balan
Nearly 100,000 labourers are working round-the-clock on the expansion of RIL's refinery complex in Kutch, easily one of the biggest construction sites in the world today. Reliance is among several corporate giants who are heavily invested in the Gulf of Kutch -the real Gateway of India -and continue to do so. The two districts of Jamnagar and Kutch are drawing massive investments because of the gulf 's strategic location that opens up key export markets. It is easier to move goods in and supply to landlocked states up north. This is where the Adanis and Ambanis have made most of their riches.Others are now following suit. Not surprising, as the gulf has had a major role in Gujarat's rich maritime history dating back to almost 2,000 years.The ring of ports today includes Mundra, Kandla, Tuna, Okha, Muldwarka, Sikka, Vadinar, Salaya, Navlakhi, Jakhau and Poshitra. And the boom is only rising as one sees labourers from every nook and corner of the country camping in special camps spread over several square kilometers along the Jamnagar coast. Only about 10% of the labour force at project sites is Gujarati.
The total investment in Kutch when the massive earthquake struck the district in 2001 was just Rs 2,500 crore. Tax incentives to revive the district have brought in nearly Rs 100,000 crore worth of investments since. Government estimates suggest the two districts will draw investments worth Rs 300,000 crore over the next decade. While the southern shore of the gulf is dominated by the Mukesh Ambani-controlled RIL, the northern coast is ruled by the Gautam Adanipromoted Adani Group from Mundra, the country's biggest private port. In barely 15 years, Mundra has overtaken Kandla in cargo handling. The Adanis have lined up Rs 60,000 crore worth of projects in coal gasification and solar and thermal power generation around the port and SEZ in Mundra. IL&FS, OPG Power, Ultratech Cement, Welspun Energy , Essar Group, RSPL Ltd, GSFC and Anil Ambani's R-ADAG have also committed investments.
“The Mundra port has hastened the development in Kutch. This has also prompted Kandla port to improve and expand in wake of the tough competition from Adanis,“ said Suren Vakil, MD, BMT Consultants India.Availability of vast patches of arid land is also luring companies to the gulf.
“The Gulf of Kutch is less likely to face the problem of siltation than the Gulf of Cambay . There is lot of scope for other players to invest in the region as land is plenty and largely unproductive,“ says G Raghuram, professor, IIM-Ahmedabad.
