Verna industrial estate exhausted, no more plots for IPB: GIDC

Panaji: The Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) has informally conveyed to the Goa Investment Promotion Board (IPB) that land for special project category investments at the Verna Industrial Estate is unavailable. The GIDC told the IPB that it has reached the “internal threshold of 40% of the available land” at the industrial estate. This was conveyed after the IPB recommended three investment projects for land allotment.“No further allotments under the special project category shall be considered at Verna industrial estate unless the board decides otherwise,” said a GIDC official. IPB officials said that the GIDC has yet to convey a formal decision, but admitted that industrial land at Verna is becoming scarce for investment projects.The GIDC regulations set aside 40% of industrial land for projects approved by the IPB. The GIDC board has the power to review or relax the 40% cap on land allotment for investment projects recommended by the IPB, said the official.The IPB submitted three applications for land allotment under the special project category at the Verna Industrial Estate in April. The three applications were for Acme Print Media, Industrial Engineers, and Navin Pharma Services, each with a requirement of 4,000sqm of industrial land. The GIDC officials said that land is unavailable at Verna for the three projects. The concern about the shortage of land for investors came up for discussion at the last IPB meeting as well as at the GIDC board meeting in April. An IPB official said that efforts are on to find ways to unlock more land for industrial proposals.