New Delhi, India: The Indian government intends to connect Jammu and Kashmir to the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) in order to improve connectivity and logistical support. The local economy is anticipated to benefit from the Corridor.
A proposed industrial route known as the Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (ADKIC) would link major ports in western India, such as Jamnagar and Kandla in Gujarat, with northern industrial and agricultural hubs.
According to the Kashmir Monitor, the Center intends to extend AKIC to Jammu as part of the National Industrial Corridor Project to construct future industrial cities in India.
According to the National Industrial Corridor Development Program, the GOI (Government of India) intends to connect Jammu with AKIC, and the UT government shall declare the current alignment of the Amritsar-Jammu highway as a freight corridor, according to a formal document obtained by the Kashmir Monitor.
The Corridor would support the industrial revolution by connecting the state of Jammu and Kashmir with the industrial belt of Baddi, Bhatinda, and Ludhiana via spurs and the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Highway.
According to the plan, the Corridor will boost the union territory’s economy and open up job prospects. It stated that the goal would be to build cutting-edge, world-class infrastructure to support local businesses, increase investment, create jobs, and achieve sustainable development.
The Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), which spans six states and a distance of 1839 km, is the alignment along which the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) is being built by the Indian government.
The AKIC’s goal is to maximise the region’s current economic and employment potential, encourage investments, particularly in manufacturing, agro-processing, services, and export-oriented businesses, and advance the region’s overall economic development by building world-class infrastructure and a supportive business environment.
It is suggested that AKIC be phased in over 150–200 km zone on either side of EDFC.
The seven states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal will all fall under the influence of AKIC.
The Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh (BBN) area in Himachal Pradesh is also included in the AKIC Corridor for development as it is located approximately 70 km from the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), coming under its influence zone.
The goal of AKIC is to promote the growth of an industrial base that is well-planned, resource-efficient, and served by a world-class, sustainable connectivity infrastructure. This will significantly benefit the states that are part of its influence region in terms of innovation, manufacturing, job creation, and resource security.
The Corridor’s world-class infrastructure in these eight states will make increased investments in manufacturing and industrial operations possible.
The UT administration has been ordered by the Center to designate at least one Mega Industrial Zone as an Investment Node on the designated Corridor.
“Work will shortly start on identifying the Mega Industrial Zone. The union territory’s industrial sector will undoubtedly profit from and undergo a revolution as a result of Jammu’s inclusion in AKIC. Improved infrastructure in place, will especially encourage logistics and online shopping by shortening the distance between cities. The project’s objective, according to official sources quoted by the Kashmir Monitor, is to establish an industrial zone spanning seven Indian states and 20 cities inside each of these states.
By September 2023, construction on the 26,000 crore rupee Amritsar-Jamnagar Greenfield Corridor is expected to be complete.
