Ascendas promoter of ITPL to develop a 250 acre IT park in Devanahalli

Govt hard-sells state in Japan,Spore

Tries To Evoke Interest Among Investors In A Bullet Train Project

 The Karnataka government has done some hard-selling to investors in Japan and Singapore in the run up to the Global Investors Meet (GIM) in June.

During a road show for the event in Japan,the government made a case for Toyota and Honda to expand its presence in the state.The government sought assistance from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Japan International Construction Company (JICC) to prepare a detailed plan for a bullet train project in Karnataka.The state delegation headed by industry minister Murugesh Nirani met Japan's leading train designer Diazo Nozawa,who was associated with the first bullet train in 1964.

The government is keen on a bullet train project that would link Bangalore,Mysore and Chennai in the first phase.In subsequent phases,Bangalore would be connected to Belgaum via Tumkur and Chitradurga along NH4,and with Bidar via Gulbarga.The cost of developing a 1-km stretch for the project is estimated to be Rs 200 crore.

Nirani said Japanese investors made a representation to the state government for setting up a Japanese village spread over 500-1,000 acres in Karnataka.The area would accommodate a number of Japanese companies.We have proposed three sites -- in Narsapura,Vemgal and Tumkur -- for the project, Nirani said.He noted there were only 80 Chinese companies in Karnataka three years ago,but today there are 196.
The government has also asked JICC to prepare a detailed project report to provide better connectivity between Bangalore and Mangalore.

In Singapore,the government talked to business space provider Ascendas for a 250 acre IT park in Devanahalli.Ascendas promoted one of the first IT parks in Bangalore,the ITPB (formerly ITPL).A theme park in Mangalore on the lines of Singapores Sentosa Island,at an investment of Rs 250 crore,is also being considered.Nirani said over 300 investors participated in the road shows in Japan and Singapore.

How much of Niranis ambitions will fructify remains to be seen.The maiden edition of the Global Investors Meet in 2010 witnessed the signing of nearly 400 MoUs with promises of an investment of close to Rs 4 lakh crore.But in the two years since then,only Rs 10,000 crore has been invested,though the government says many more are in the works.