Lucknow [UP]: The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on Tuesday approved Ramky Infrastructure Ltd as the preferred bidder to develop a 1,000-acre PM MITRA Mega Textile Park on the Lucknow-Hardoi border at an estimated cost of Rs 1,947 crore.
It also cleared expenditure proposals for seven drinking water and sewerage projects across Lucknow and Varanasi.
The textile park, being developed under the Centre’s PM MITRA scheme, is expected to attract private investment and generate direct and indirect employment for around one lakh people, according to a state government statement.
The Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, accepted the single bid received for selecting the master developer and approved Ramky Infrastructure as the preferred bidder for the project.
Handloom and Textiles Minister Rakesh Sachan said the project would be developed with an estimated investment of Rs 1,947 crore, with the Centre providing financial assistance of up to 30 per cent of the project cost, subject to a maximum of Rs 500 crore.
The park is expected to create opportunities for domestic and international private investment and benefit weavers, garment manufacturers and exporters, the minister said.
The project will be implemented through PM MITRA Park Uttar Pradesh Ltd, a special purpose vehicle jointly owned by the Centre and the state government, with the Uttar Pradesh government holding a 51 per cent stake and the Centre 49 per cent.
The state government has provided 1,000 acres of land to the special purpose vehicle on a 99-year lease at a nominal rate of Re 1 per acre per year, Principal Secretary (Handloom and Textiles) Anil Kumar Sagar said.
Following a national tendering process, Ramky Infrastructure was found eligible after technical and financial evaluation, he added.
The project will be developed under a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) public-private partnership model, with a five-year construction period and a total concession period of 50 years.
The park will have internal roads, electricity distribution networks, ready-to-use factory sheds, an incubation centre and a common boiler facility. A common effluent treatment plant based on zero liquid discharge norms will be set up to ensure treatment and recycling of industrial wastewater.
The infrastructure will also include hostels and residential facilities for workers, particularly women, along with a health centre, skill development institute, warehousing facilities and a logistics hub. The state government will provide external infrastructure, including six-lane road connectivity and arrangements for uninterrupted power and water supply.
In a separate decision, the Cabinet approved expenditure proposals for seven drinking water and sewerage projects in Lucknow and Varanasi under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0.
The projects aim to improve water supply and sewerage coverage in the targeted areas of both cities, Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said.
In Varanasi, sewerage projects covering the old Trans Varuna area’s District 2B and 2C zones, along with the newly expanded Lahartara and Chitaipur zones, are expected to benefit around 8.52 lakh people.
Drinking water expansion and improvement projects in the same areas are expected to benefit around 8.22 lakh people, the statement said.
In Lucknow, a drinking water project covering the Aishbagh, Alamnagar and Kesharikheda wards under Drinking Water District-D is expected to benefit around 1.56 lakh people.
The government aims to ensure complete drinking water and sewerage coverage in the areas covered by the respective projects.
The funding provisions for the seven projects include Rs 696.42 crore as the Centre’s share, Rs 1,866.40 crore as the state’s share, Rs 222.85 crore as the urban local bodies’ share and Rs 113.95 crore towards centage charges, the statement said.
The projects are aimed at strengthening urban infrastructure and improving access to basic civic amenities, it added.
[DD News]