What is Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC)?

An industrial corridor linking Mumbai and Bangalore in India is being considered, and it is known as the Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC). An industrial corridor is a group of infrastructural investments made in a particular region with the goal of promoting industrial growth. In order to transform the nation into a hub of manufacturing activity and serve both the sizable home market and the global market, the Industrial Corridor recommends the construction of specific Zones for manufacturing and boosting investments.

INTRODUCTION

Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC) runs through important cities including Davanagere, Chitradurga, Hubli-Dharwad, Belagavi, Solapur, Kolhapur, Satara, and Pune as it crosses the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The corridor spans an area of around 143,000 km2 and has a total length of about 1,000 km. The corridor is defined around the existing Dabhol-Bangalore Natural Gas Pipeline, the existing Bangalore-Mumbai Railway Line, and the current National Highway 48 (NH48), which connects Bangalore to Mumbai.

CONCEPT

The Hubballi-Dharwad twin city, the second-largest municipal corporation in the state of Karnataka, which is positioned to lead the next industrial revolution in Karnataka, is nearby and the project spans an area of more than 6,000 acres. The property is well connected to major urban centers like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Goa, and others via the NH 48 and 67 highways. The projected Dharwad-Belgavi rail route is located next to the site, 25 kilometres from the Dharwad current railway station. The closest seaports are in Karwar (at a distance of 170 km), which is close to Hubbali, and Goa (at a distance of 30 km) (180 km). Any infrastructure gaps required for the Dharwad node would be reviewed and addressed for development as part of PM GatiShakti, the National Master Plan for delivering multimodal connectivity, in order to completely integrate the economic zones. The National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) and the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board are working together to create the project (KIADB). A consultant has been hired to complete the Project’s Master Planning and initial engineering.

PROJECT STATUS OF BENGALURU-MUMBAI INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR

• The governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka have respectively certified that land is available in Dharwad and Satara for the development of industrial nodes.
• For both nodes, consultants have been hired to help with the preliminary engineering and detailed master planning.
• The priority node for further implementation has been determined to be the Dharwad node in Karnataka.
• The development of the Sangli/Solapur node has received “in-principle clearance” from the Maharashtra government.

ADVANTAGES

The Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor aims to promote the growth of an industrial base that is well-planned, resource-efficient, and served by cutting-edge, sustainable connectivity infrastructure. This will benefit these states significantly in terms of innovation, manufacturing, job creation, and resource security. Increased investments in manufacturing and industrial activities in these states will be made possible by the presence of top-notch infrastructure throughout the corridor. Dharwad in Karnataka (about 6,400 acres) and Satara in Maharashtra (about 12,355 acres) have been named as prospective nodes in the initial phase.