Modi invites Japanese investors to set up SEZ in Gujarat

New Delhi, Sept 25 (UNI) Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi today invited Japanese investors and industrialists to set up exclusive Special Economic Zones (SEZs), saying the 1600-km coastline of the state, the largest in the country, provided an ideal destination for investments.

At a luncheon meeting with a Japanese delegation of leading entrepreneurs and promoters here, organised by FICCI, Mr Modi offered his government's full support to facilitate land acquisition for SEZ projects.

''My government will also ensure that the units located in SEZs have total flexibility in labour matters,'' said the chief minister, who made an unscheduled visit to the capital to unfold his vision of Gujarat's growth before the Japanese industrialists and investors.

Mr Modi also invited Japanese companies and investors to visit Gujarat and participate in the Global Investors' Summit 2007, to be held in Ahmedabad during January.

As a pioneer state in the SEZ, LNG port terminals, gas and petroleum sector and manufacturing and engineering industries, he said Gujarat offered a wide array of opportunities for investments with infrastructural initiatives.

The CMD of Mitsui, a leading Japanese multinational company, later expressed interest in establishing a SEZ for Japanese companies in Gujarat and also in participating in Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' summit.

Mr Modi said he considered Gujarat to be a place similar to Japan.

''Japan is a small country but has emerged as a strong and powerful economic force of the world. Likewise, Gujarat, a small state in India, has became a powerful growth engine of the nation's economy.'' In this connection, he pointed out that as many as 44 projects, with technical collaboration from Japan, were under implementation in Gujarat, out of which six of them had already been commissioned.

''The presence of Japanese companies, including Hitachi, Novino and Sumitomo, in Gujarat indicates preference of Japanese industries for the investor-friendly state,'' he said.

Drawing attention to his government's initiatives in public-private partnership (PPP) for the port-led development, the chief minister said it is the only state in the country where industries get uninterrupted power.

''All the 18,000 villages in the state get three-phase electricity.

This is the unique distinction achieved in power reforms,'' he said, adding that the state of the art infrastructure in roads and water management had also resulted in farm revolution.

In the gas-oil fields, Gujarat has emerged as the ''petro-capital of India'', having a large quantum of gas availability and good resource of petroleum and gas both onshore and offshore.

''With two LNG terminals at Hazira and Dahej port and 22 sanctioned SEZs, Gujarat's coastline will not only be gateways for goods and services for the hinterland states of India. Its ports will open a new vista for global trade,'' he assured the Japaneses delegates.

He said that in the communication sector, the state has Asia's largest Information Technology optical fibre cable network and highest teledensity.

Japan Ambassador Yasukuni Enoki and Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industries chief Nobuo Yamagachi praised the tremendous strides made by Gujarat.

Showcasing the booming drug and pharmaceutical and textile industries in the state, Mr Modi exhorted Japanese industries to consider financial and technical tie-ups with pharma and chemical industries in Gujarat.

In the automobile sector, he said Gujarat provided an ideal ground for setting up automobile assembly plants for export. He also assured that the State was most willing to extend help to locate such auto assembly lines near ports.

Another area in which Mr Modi sought Japanese investments was the shipping sector. ''Ship-building projects can be mutually beneficial,'' he suggested.

Presenting a new initiative in religious tourism, Mr. Modi said his government considered setting up Buddha monuments as there were a number of Buddhist shrines in the state.

A multi-media presentation on Gujarat's development was made by state Principal Secretary (Industires) D Rajgopalan.

Around 150 Japanese delegates actively participated in the meeting.

UNI/SKS RA PM1959