As India moves towards building and sprucing up its infrastructure like never before. The Government is identifying critical gaps in our infrastructure and trying to fill those gaps at the earliest so as to ensure faster connectivity between various geographies. The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project (DMIC) is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects till date. It’s likely to boost industrial development all along the alignment. The corridor covers distance of 1500-km and envisage a high-tech industrial zone spread across six states between Delhi and Mumbai. The Shendra - Bidkin belt in Aurangabad region is one of the DMIC nodes. Sandeep Sharma takes a look at AURIC — the upcoming smart industrial township in Shendra - Bidkin region. INDUSTRIAL CITY Aurangabad Industrial City (AURIC) is planned as an independent industrial township project across an area of 10,000 acre on the outskirts of Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra. AURIC will be developed as an integrated smart city jointly by DMICDC and Maharashtra Industrial Development Council (MIDC). The latter has provided land equity worth Rs.3,000 crore for buying land and transfer it to the SPV - Aurangabad Industrial Township Ltd (AITL). AITL is formed to develop and manage the township by leveraging smart technology and e-governance. AITL will have its own set of DCR rules, with single point contact for building permission, water supply and all related infrastructure. AITL will also manage day to day activities of the industrial city. AURIC Township would boast of office spaces, residences, hotels, large & small format retail outlets, hospitals, schools, parks, entertainment hubs and lots more. As per the plan around 40 per cent of the land will be used for building residential and commercial spaces, institutions, open spaces as well as social infrastructure. Sixty per cent of the overall land is dedicated for industrial purpose. AURIC Industrial Township aims to attract diverse range of industries comprising Auto, Defence, Electronics, Engineering, Textile, Food and Beverages. The city offers ample choice of investment in industrial properties of various sizes. It will be the first city in India to provide an underground electrical cable network for industrial use. This would ensure cost effective, high quality and reliable power supply for precision manufacturing. Bidkin Master Plan SMART FEATURES Gone are those days when industrial estates were developed leading to unplanned urbanisation in the neighbourhood, adding further pressure on the existing resources and infrastructure. Smart age demands building complete ecosystem for businesses to operate and people to live side-by-side. The walk-to-work concept is gaining ground, need for smart transport, water management and optimisation of energy usage are slowly becoming the norms. Self-sustained industrial township projects are being proposed and fast tracked. AURIC promises sustainable development with Smart features to all its inhabitants. The range of mobility solutions comprises intelligent transportation system, integrated and seamless rail and road network for movement of people and goods, bicycle facilities, demarcated space for pedestrians. LANDUSE PATTERN AURIC has adopted sustainable water management practices which would focus on water conservation and recycling of water for industrial use. The plan includes setting up Central Effluent Treatment plant and Sewage treatment facilities. The existing water bodies comprising five lakes and creeks have been preserved while planning land use. The measures are taken to maintain the quality of water. To support the biodiversity and ecology of the city, the recreational activities as well as aesthetics, horticulture and plantation design elements have been integrated in the development plan. CONNECTIVITY The Greenfield industrial township will provide an integrated and seamless connectivity via rail, road and air to the major cities in India. Jalna dry port is coming up at a distance of 40-km. The port connectivity would help facilitate the movement of manufactured goods from AURIC to different centres of consumption across the country. AURIC is just 10 minutes away from the Aurangabad International Airport. The city of AURIC would have 60 metre wide roads. BENEFITS The development of AURIC is likely to boost overall economic development, employment creation, provision of high-quality social amenities, and likely to usher in a new era of growth and prosperity. AURIC will provide sustainable infrastructure, long term economic growth, high quality of life and a knowledge-based ecosystem. The seamless integration of Information and Communication Technologies would lead to efficient use of resources and innovation. Green assets providing elixir of life would include open spaces, parks, natural ponds and streams. OPPORTUNITIES The companies like Marriott, Micromax, Hyatt and the Bagla Group have shown interest in setting up bases in AURIC. Some of these companies have already been allotted plots to set up their units while others are in the negotiation stage. In October 2017, the Land allotment committee (LAC) of the AURIC has allotted ten plots to smaller investors from textile, electrical, plastic and engineering industries. Hyosung Corporation of South Korea is the anchor investor which has taken up 100 acre to set up a textile chemicals manufacturing unit at Shendra. The company aims to invest Rs 4,000 crore. Several ancillary units too will come along with Hyosung. About 35 small industries have been allotted land at Shendra. The development of AURIC offers a gamut of golden opportunities for both local and international investors. These opportunities include setting up manufacturing units, building township, knowledge city, retail spaces, hotel and entertainment zones, constructing roads, intelligent transport systems, pedestrian way, bicycle lane, bicycle stand, seating, road junctions, crossings, signage, refuge islands, amphitheatre near the creek line and installation of solar panels to harness clean energy. Fifteen acre of land is reserved to construct affordable houses in AURIC with 600 sq ft area. AURIC HALL AURIC Hall is located on the North-western part of the Central Business District (CBD) of AURIC - Shendra. The proposed administration building covering 25,000 sq ft draws inspiration from the classical aspects of the city's heritage architecture. The building site admeasures 11,335 sq mt. The AURIC Hall site has a 45m Road ROW on the western side and the main access to the building is from the northern side of the plot. The eastern side of the plot is proposed as an open space and a potential public parking area where as the southern side is bounded by another developable plot. The Auric Hall is designed as a landmark building for the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMIDC) in Shendra, Aurangabad. The building is designed for LEED platinum rating. The work on the five storeys Auric Hall is progressing well. So far around 60 per cent of the work is completed. The landmark building will be ready by October, 2018. LEAD PLAYERS DELHI MUMBAI INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (DMICDC) acts as an intermediary for the purpose of development and establishment of infrastructure projects and facilities in India through developing and disseminating appropriate financial instruments, negotiating loans and advances of all nature, and formulating schemes for mobilization of resources and extension of credit for infrastructure. MAHARASHTRA INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (MIDC) is the industrial development arm of the Government of Maharashtra, responsible for creating state of the art infrastructure for industrial development in each district of the state and assisting entrepreneurs in setting up industrial units in its industrial areas. Founded in 1962 to provide prosperity to all through industrialization, the growth trajectory of MIDC has been remarkable. Within a span of five decades MIDC has become the premier industrial infrastructure development agency in India, a powerful engine of progress with a trailblazing record and above all the pride of Maharashtra. TECHNOLOGY PARTNER HONEYWELL is the Master System Integrator (MSI) for ICT at AURIC – Shendra. Honeywell has been responsible for supply, implementation, integration, operations and maintenance of smart city ICT components. Some of these components include: CCTV surveillance system will help to monitor the city and its assets. Automatic Traffic Counters and Classifiers (ATCC) will be implemented at all entry and exit points to monitor traffic flows and other parameters. Environmental sensors will also be implemented at strategic locations for monitoring various parameters such as pollutant levels so as to track the environmental impact of the city. An integrated vehicle tracking system for city vehicles will be implemented for automatically tracking locations of city vehicle at the AURIC Control Centre (ACC). Specifically for Solid Waste Management, in addition to tracking, system is also capable of automatically dispatching waste collection vehicles based on various parameters and inputs including bin level sensors. Command control application will integrate all components and will be one point information source for various bodies helping them to manage city better. PROGRAMME MANAGER FOR NEW CITIES (PMNC) CH2M (a Jacobs company) is the Programme Manager for New Cities (PMNC) for AURIC Shendra Bidkin Industrial Area (SBIA). The company is responsible for development of the Part – I of SBIA spread over an area of 40.18 sq km. They are providing programme management oversight, quality control, master planning, and construction management. As PMNC, they deliver various Erections, Procurement and Construction (EPC) packages pertaining to all utilities, roads, Rail Over Bridges (ROBs) and power, while teaming with various contractors; prepare scope of work and procurement packages; perform consultant selection, negotiations, coordination and oversight; and implement quality control programmes, including progress monitoring and reporting. They are responsible for the detailed master plan design and validation studies and have been instrumental in review and application of detailed tonal plans and the pertinent town planning schemes in coordination with the Client, State level agencies, and other stakeholders. In addition, they manage engineering services for several civil and electrical infrastructure designs and provide construction phase services. ICT CONSULTANT IBI has been responsible for detailed ICT Master Planning and Engineering for AURIC-Shendra. This includes requirements gathering and visioning, detailed design, development of RFQ cum RFP document & the Bid-Process Management. For the ICT discipline, IBI is the Program Management Consultant (PMC) responsible for managing and supervising the implementation and operations. CURRENT STATUS The Chief Minister of Maharashtra has recently performed the ground breaking ceremony of the Bidkin section of the Aurangabad Industrial City project. The projects worth Rs 7,947 /- crore will be developed. The work on the overall all project is progressing well. Around 60-70 per cent of the basic amenities work including roads, footpaths, street lights, sewage system, substations, water pipeline, underground electrical cable, and fire safety systems got over. A total road length of 63-km is constructed so far. By June 2018, the tarring of 60 metre and 45 metre road would be over. Railway over bridge at Karmad and Satana will be ready by December. The work is progressing well on 16 small flyovers. Five substation work and Optical fibre network task is being undertaken. The state government has invested Rs 2,000 crore so far on creating basic amenities. Commenting on the occasion, Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra has said, “This will be 1st integrated smart city & will provide 3 lakh jobs. It will create the vendor & manufacturing ecosystem. Communication & connectivity is the key for industrial development. After completion of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi corridor & Jalna dry port, it will give major boost to the region." WAY FORWARD On completion, AURIC smart city promises to be a bustling and vibrant economy providing high quality of life to its community. The industrial township promises to attract investment in billions from both domestic and international companies. It would serve as a growth engine for the entire region churning out lakh of job opportunities. Optimum use of the available resources, better management of urban affairs and e-governance are likely to be the hallmark of AURIC. The Phase-I work on nine sq km is under progress at Shendra and likely to complete by end of 2018. The entire city is expected to complete by 2022. Overall, AURIC city holds tremendous potential and is likely to become the most sought after global competitive investment destination.
LANDUSE PATTERN