Reliance arm to spend Rs1,300 cr on electronics, footwear hub

Reliance Industries Ltd's wholly-owned arm Model Economic Township will develop an electronics manufacturing hub and footwear park at Jhajjar, Haryana with an investment of Rs1,300 crore.

Model Economic Township, formerly known as Reliance Haryana SEZ, expects that the electronic hub and footwear park would attract a further investments of Rs2,600 crore from units to be established inside it while generating about 20,000 jobs.

The firm has signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the Haryana government at the Happening Haryana global investors' summit to develop electronic manufacturing clusters on 450 acres and a 500-acre footwear park.

The proposed electronic hub and footwear park is part of 8,000 acre industrial town being developed by the company.

''We are developing a large industrial town in Jhajjar district spread over 8,000 acres. We have already developed 290 acres. Now the company has decided to set up an electronic hub and footwear park. '' Model Economic Township Ltd director SV Goyal told PTI.

Elaborating on the company's agreement with the Haryana government, Goyal said, ''We have signed two MoUs for the development of 450 acres for electronic manufacturing cluster and another 500 acres for a footwear park.''

Under the MOUs, the Haryana government will facilitate all approvals on a fast-track basis and also provide incentives as eligible to the units to be established in both the electronic hub and the footwear park.

Asked about the investment, Goyal said, ''The project cost for the electronic manufacturing cluster would be Rs500 crore and for the footwear park Rs800 crore. The total project cost for both would be Rs1,300 crore.''

That apart, the electronic hub is estimated to attract an investments of Rs1,000 crore from units in the electronic hub and another Rs1,600 crore from units in the footwear park.

''We want to support government's Make in India initiative by providing world class infrastructure to units which want to manufacture in India,'' Goyal said.

Already, Japanese majors Panasonic and Denso have set up their facilities and generated employment for about 3,000 persons in the 290 acres which has been made operational.

Model Economic Township Ltd has applied for license to develop electronic hub and would soon make an application for the footwear park.

''About 100 units could be established in both electronic hub and footwear park generating an employment opportunities for around 20,000 people,'' Goyal said, adding the development process would take 3-5 years. The company aims to provide social infrastructure which will create an ecosystem for walk to work culture, Goyal said.