Surat to get green makeover

Surat and Dahej can soon get a makeover thanks to Japanese help.

Kitakyushu Asian Center for Low Carbon Society of Japan (KACLCS) and the government of Gujarat have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) according to which KACLCS will offer consulting to develop Surat in the lines of Japan's Kitakyushu city.

Japanese consultants present at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit felt that Dahej could also be developed as an eco-town.

Kitakyushu, with a size of 485 square kilometers and a GDP of 3.5 trillion Japanese yen, was a victim of severe air pollution and water contamination in the 1960's thanks to hazardous industrial waste.

Junichi Sono, deputy director of KACLCS, said "We overcame the problem through partnership with residents, private companies and local government. Around $5.5 billion of public spending and $2.2 billion private spending helped the city to overcome the crisis. We have started the International Environment Cooperation in Asian Countries that now involves 137 countries and has trained around 5805 people."

The basic premise on which Kitakyushu operates is using any kind of waste as raw material for other industry.

Junya Kikuhara, assistant manager of environment policy team, EX Corporation said, "Surat and Dahej can be developed as similar eco-townships. In the future we plan to develop one epicenter and nine other eco-towns in Gujarat."

His company is in talks with the state government to sign an agreement whereby they would provide consultation for revamping the industrial cities of Gujarat like Dahej. Gujarat generates 22 per cent of India's total hazardous waste, and ranks number one among other states in this regard.

While the country produces 6.23 million tones per annum(mtpa) of hazardous waste annually, Gujarat alone accounts for 1.8 mtpa. Kikuhara said, "The existing Treatment Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDF) in Gujarat only cover 10 per cent of the waste generated, and the remaining 90 per cent goes to landfill sites."

He said that Dahej can become a center for 3R, reduce, re-use and recycle. Kitakyushu has set up plants that recycle home appliances, electronic devices, waste-to-energy plants, and Dahej could follow a similar model.

Sono said that the Surat-Kitakyushu Eco-town Cooperation has been set up according to the MoU that would be facilitating in resource circulation and recycling. Meanwhile, Universal Success Enterprises Limited (USE) has also inked an MoU to develop a 5,000 acre industrial integrated township at Dholera.

The Project will include development of a special zone dedicated to Japanese industry social infrastructure for Japanese community.

Ports, shipbuilding see 97 MoUs

The ports and shipbuilding sector has witnessed a mammoth investment promise of over Rs 1 lakh crore with as many as 97 MoUs being signed on the Day-2 of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, 2011.

Some of the big wigs in the ports sector that signed MoUs included Adani HPPL Ltd worth Rs 8000 crore (Rs 80 billion) for development of bulk-general cargo terminal at Hazira, while Essar group signed two MoUs involving a total investment of around Rs 8100 crore (Rs 81 billion) under its group company, Essar Bulk Terminals Ltd for expansion of deep water terminal at Hazira and extension of company's Salaya jetty.