East Coast Economic Corridor
[3] ECEC stretches about 2,500 kilometers along India's eastern coast—from Kolkata in the north to Kanyakumari in the south—traversing the four states of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
With a demographic dividend ushering in tremendous economic gains, a huge domestic market, and substantial opportunities for integration with the global economy, India has the potential to move to a higher growth trajectory.
To continue on a sustainable growth path, India would require greater investment in infrastructure, regulatory reforms, skills development and technological modernization, and innovation in financing.
A successful ECD strategy requires quality infrastructure and a policy framework that contributes to an efficient industrial base, attracts investment in the manufacturing sector, and facilitates production for domestic and export markets.
Alongside ECEC, four more industrial corridor projects (Delhi-Mumbai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Bengaluru-Mumbai, and Amritsar Kolkata) have been identified, planned, and launched by the GoI.
ECEC’s long coastline and strategic location provide an opportunity to develop multiple international gateways to connect India with global value chains.
ECEC will buttress the government’s Sagarmala initiative, which seeks to develop India’s economic strength along its coastline by transforming ports, industrial clusters near the coast, and inland logistics infrastructure.
Improvements to essential and efficient infrastructure will reduce transaction costs for businesses, thus spurring increased private investment, industrial progress, and economic growth.
Upgrading road and rail networks and developing cross-connecting lateral links will stimulate economic activity in existing and emerging clusters and enhance logistics competitiveness in ECEC.
The various economic corridors being developed across South Asia are expected to facilitate trade by expanding land and maritime routes and stepping up regional integration efforts.
The conceptualization and development of ECEC has received major support from ADB, which carried out analytical work determining the kind of infrastructure and institutional investments necessary to drive manufacturing-led growth in consultation with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, GOI.
At the heart of VCIC is a transport corridor that extends north-south over 800 km along National Highway 16 (NH 16) on the coast of Andhra Pradesh connecting clusters where industries are located.
Findings from the initial study identified six nodes for development, namely: Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) at Cuddalore and Nagapattinam; Ariyalur and Perambalur; Trichy-Pudukottai-Sivaganga; Madurai-Virudhunagar-Dindigul-Theni (MVDT); Ramanathapuram; and Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli (TT).
In consultation with the Government of Odisha, factors such as land availability and distances from large cities, highways, and ports have been used to prioritize the two nodes of KCJ and JKB.
Key industrial nodes being considered based on land availability include Goaltore (Paschim Medinipur) and Andal (Burdwan) located in Aerotropolis.
ADB has supported the corridor’s conceptualization and development[6] and carried out analytical work in consultation with the DIPP, GoI to determine the infrastructure and institutional investments needed to drive manufacturing-led growth.
In July 2018, Andhra Pradesh, with a score of 98.42 per cent, topped the ease of doing business ranking among Indian states prepared by the World Bank and DIPP.
Parameters for the rankings include construction permits, labor regulations, environmental registration, access to information, land availability, and single window systems.
ADB has also been assisting GoI and state governments in attracting new investment into ECEC—drawing in key anchor investors into the corridor, and encouraging expansion of existing businesses.
Reaching out to the business community aims to tailor the direction of infrastructure investment and policy reforms in ECEC following the most urgent needs of existing and potential investors.
ADB has supported activities that highlight investment opportunities in ECEC including road shows, business summits, government-to-business conferences, and business-to-business meetings.
