Surat, Sep 19 (PTI) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday launched the master plan for the Surat Economic Region (SER) and said it will play a crucial role in making the state a $3.5 trillion economy by 2047.
The 'Economic Master Plan of Surat Economic Region' was launched as part of NITI Aayog’s ‘Growth Hub’ programme.
The CM said the master plan for SER will realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of holistic development of the entire region instead of focussing on only a few pockets.
“Besides traditional businesses like chemicals, diamond and textiles, this master plan also focuses on developing sustainable agriculture, IT, real estate, tourism and logistics sectors. We aim to make Gujarat a $3.5 trillion economy by 2047 and this master plan will play a crucial role in it,” he said.
NITI Aayog, the Centre’s apex public policy think tank, has selected Surat, Mumbai, Varanasi and Visakhapatnam under its Growth Hub (G-HUB) programme, said Gujarat Chief Secretary Raj Kumar in his address at the launch event in Surat city.
The main objective of the G-HUB initiative is to prepare a comprehensive framework and strategies for the economic development of these cities and their surrounding regions, besides formulating a detailed roadmap to implement this master plan, he said.
In his address, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said the master plan concerns the entire Surat Economic Region (SER) of south Gujarat, including Surat and its adjoining districts of Bharuch, Navsari, Tapi, Dang and Valsad.
“Nearly 1.5 crore people live in SER comprising six districts and its GDP stands at $72 billion, nearly 25 per cent of Gujarat’s gross domestic product. This region holds great potential and that is why we have chosen it under the G-HUB initiative,” he said.
The SER is already a diamond, textiles and chemical hub but its tourism and agro-processing potential is still untapped, he said.
“We are aiming to uplift the SER’s GDP from the present $72 billion to $1.3 trillion by 2047 when India will be celebrating 100 years of Independence,” Subrahmanyam said.
The master plan calls for promoting the service economy by creating world-class trading hubs for readymade apparels and jewellery, and developing new growth avenues in tourism, real estate and agriculture sectors, he said.
To make the SER a global chemical and pharma hub, the master plan also suggests scaling up production by attracting big multinational companies to establish their facilities here, he added.
“We also need to establish bourses for the apparel and jewellery industry. For B2C (business-to-consumer), we can replicate the Dubai and GIFT City model at DREAM City in Surat and for B2B (business-to-business), we can replicate the Guangzhou Model by establishing a trading hub in the city. We are also focussing on a cluster-based approach for the ancillary industry,” he said.
To develop the tourism sector, the master plan suggests beach hotels for high-spending tourists, a theme park on the lines of Disneyland, cruise tourism, wildlife as well as adventure tourism in interior areas of the adjoining districts of Valsad, Tapi and Dang, he said.
Other key proposals include setting up an ‘Edu-City’ campus to accommodate private universities, two schools with international board affiliation, three multispeciality hospitals and other healthcare facilities in the entire region.
The master plan also suggests setting up luxury malls on the lines of the ones in Dubai, the development of Ukai reservoir for tourists, a Parsi Irani Zoroastrian Experience Centre, off-shore wind power plants, a solar power park and an air freight station for the pharma industry.
On the occasion, Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil urged the NITI Aayog to also focus on the medical device industry.
“Gujarat has the most number of medical device manufacturers. And in Gujarat, Surat has the highest number of such units. But, perhaps no one paid attention because the size of the industry is small. However, the quality of products is truly exceptional and investment is also high,” he added.