Parliamentary Secretary for Industries & Commerce Dr. KC Nihoshe today said that a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Nagaland as a first in the entire North Eastern region is expected to attract investors. Setting up a SEZ for agro and food processing would be a major boost for farmers in Nagaland, he said. A number of industrial sectors involved in agro and food processing have in fact indicated interest in establishing units in the SEZ, the legislator said in a press release today.

Korean investors have indicated interest in establishing a ginger-processing unit in the SEZ, Dr. Nihoshe informed. The location of the SEZ is the erstwhile Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) developed by the Nagaland Industrial Development Corporation (NIDC). The EPIP in Nagaland could not take off successfully as similar parks had come up in neighboring Assam and Meghalaya, offering similar incentives and facilities. Further, the performance of similar parks in the NE region was reportedly not satisfactory as the industrial units were unable to meet export obligations envisaged under the EPIP scheme, the parliamentary secretary said.

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India has notified 50.70 hectares in Ganeshnagar under Dhansiri sub-division in Dimapur district as a Special Economic Zone, on July 9. The NIDC had proposed under section 3 of the Special Economic Zone Act, 2005 to set up a sector specific SEZ for agro and food processing sector at Ganeshnagar. The Government of India has also constituted a committee to be called the Approval Committee for the said SEZ. The central government declared the said sector-specific SEZ to be deemed as Inland Container Depot/Port under section 7 of the Custom Act, 1962.

While there are many SEZs spread all over the country, the SEZ at Ganeshnagar is the first of its kind in the entire north east region with the NIDC as the developer. SEZ is a specifically delineated duty-free enclave and shall be deemed to be a foreign territory for the purpose of trade operations and duties and tariffs. A SEZ is deemed to be a territory outside the customs territory of India for the purpose of undertaking the operations.

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