The Union government has included Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) Node in Himachal Pradesh under Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) project amongst 32 nodes that have been identified for development in 11 industrial corridors in the Bharatmala Project.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur informed about this on Tuesday evening and thanked the Union government for the decision.

The Chief Minister appreciated National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited (NICDC) for fast-paced activities in development of BBN ‘Node’.

He stated that this project would go a long way in providing better ease of logistics for industry, futuristic industrial city and further impetus to industrial growth in the state. It will also create employment opportunities and economic growth leading to overall socio-economic development.

This project will be implemented in close cooperation with the Himachal government that will provide land as their share of equity in the project and the rest of the cost for development of the node will be borne by the Government of India (GoI) which will be equivalent to the value of state’s equity in shape of land, the CM said.

He further stated that a joint SPV (State and GoI) will be formed for the development of the Node. The maximum total project cost would be Rs 3000 crore and for the Viable Gap Funding (VGF), there is provision of interest-free loan to the state for 10 years.

The Chief Minister said that he has been actively pursuing this project with Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and apprised him on the direct dividends from linking AKIC not only to manufacturing but also for the agriculture sector.

A delegation of the Industries department representing the state government also participated in the first Stakeholders Consultation meeting held at NICDC office in Delhi. The interaction with the selected consortium was on project development activities for BBN Node in Himachal Pradesh under AKIC project.

The professionals engaged by NICDC would start work from 26th April and prepare DPR by June and execution of trunk infrastructure would start after monsoon. This project would be implemented jointly by GoI and state through SPV in time-bound manner, he added.