Nitish govt to set up special industrial zones across Bihar: Official

Patna | The Bihar government is preparing to set up special industrial zones across the state, buoyed by the success of the investors' meet during which investments worth Rs 1.81 lakh crore were proposed, a senior official said on Sunday.

Speaking to PTI, Industries Secretary Bandana Preyashi said these zones will be more comprehensively designed and designated for particular types of products.

"The government, under the state's new industrial policy, will set up special industrial zones, keeping the potential of an area in mind, in almost all districts of the state," she said.

The zones will be set up keeping in view the agricultural produce of that district and if they already have handicraft activities, she said.

"We will also keep the availability of labour in each zone in mind," Preyashi said.

"I must say that the special industrial zones will be more comprehensive, designated for certain products. For example, we are planning to have zones for toys and plastic products in Begusarai and West Champaran districts. We are planning a dedicated manufacturing zone for pharma products in Hajipur in Vaishali district," she added.

Preyashi said the preparation of the state's new industrial policy is at the final stage, and it will be unveiled soon.

The decision regarding the industrial zones was taken following the success of Bihar Business Connect 2024, which was held in December, she said.

"Bihar, under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is set to play a very important role as the growth engine of the country. The government is committed to ensuring conversion of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) into investments on the ground within a year," she said.

For this, one nodal officer has been appointed for every five to ten MoUs signed during the summit, the official said.

"These nodal officers are helping the investors in securing land and all other clearances. They are available 24X7 to help the investors. Progress made is being reviewed periodically by the authorities concerned," she said.

The state government signed investment commitments with 423 companies during the summit. Among them are Sun Petrochemicals, which have shown interest in investing Rs 36,700 crore for renewable energy projects, and Adani Group, which has committed to investing Rs 28,000 crore in setting up a thermal power plant, besides expanding cement production capacity, and food processing and logistics businesses.

The maximum investment proposals, worth Rs 90,734 crore, were made in the renewable energy sector. Besides, 57 proposals worth Rs 55,888 crore were received by the state in general manufacturing, while 70 proposals worth Rs 13,663 crore were made in food processing.

A total of 142 MoUs were signed in urban infrastructure with investment proposals of Rs 5,566 crore.