Nagpur will soon benefit as the only city in India to develop the ambitious Special Economic Zone (SEZ), featuring a Multimodal International Hub and Airport. (MIHAN)
     Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with Minister for Surface Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari have revived the MIHAN plans.
      In fact, the city is on the fast track to development and will spend a whopping Rs 1508.36 crore.
The keenness of the government to boost infrastructure has seen some crucial decisions.
 
Fadnavis The Terminator

      The Maharashtra government under Chief Minister Fadnavis sent out a tough message to quite a few who had been allotted land at MIHAN-SEZ. Of the 80-odd companies that had been given land, 63 of them were sent notices of termination since they had not done any work on the ground.
      The notices were sent after a recent meeting of the Special Task Force on MIHAN, chaired by Gadkari.
      The 63 erring companies had purchased plots a few years ago.
      According to sources present at the meeting, if some of the companies showed their willingness to start work and provided a roadmap for time-bound implementation of their project, the authorities would think about giving them more time and the termination notices could be withdrawn. Incidentally, among these companies are some well-known names like HCL, Wipro, Max Aerospace, etc.

      In a related move, the government of Maharashtra has decided to send out an invitation to those keen to invest in the MIHAN-SEZ area. For his part, Gadkari is believed to have instructed the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC)—the special purpose company set up to develop MIHAN and aviation infrastructure in Maharashtra—to meet air carriers like Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet, etc. to boost air traffic at Nagpur.
      In fact, MIHAN received a significant boost from Gulf major Etihad sometime ago, when its President and Chief Executive Officer, James Hogan, met Fadnavis in Mumbai. He told the chief minister that the carrier would invest in the state. Officials present at the meeting said that Etihad wanted to set up a logistics park in the MIHAN complex. Even CM Fadnavis tweeted about his “fruitful” discussions with the Etihad team. They talked about bilateral cooperation in aviation, logistics, and tourism. Perhaps, more importantly—as far as MIHAN is concerned—was that the spotlight was on cargo exports.
      The Nagpur project has received a big boost from the Vidarbha Economic Development (VED) Council (a body of business leaders and professionals who are committed to the economic development of Vidarbha, the region that comprises Nagpur) and its President Devendra Parekh, who said that Etihad’s interest was “a good opportunity” for the Gulf carrier to start cargo services from the city.
      “They will require manpower and finances for that. Currently, all cargo services are handled from Hyderabad,” he said.
      Following Hogan’s meeting with the CM, an Etihad team—comprising Vice President (India and Indian sub-continent) Neerja Bhatia, Vice President (Cargo) David Kerr, Vice President (Network Planning) Alex Featherstone, General Manager (Airports) Matthew Davies, and Senior Manager (International and Public Affairs) Moksha Watts—visited MIHAN.
Tirthankar Ghosh

Vol. 15 No. 17
Carmen Taylor Unplugged
Chuckles For March 1, 2016
5/20 Or Fight
A Brief Conversation With Duncan Watson
A Leap Of Faith