The Gujarat Government is planning to set up a new special purpose vehicle (SPV), -- a railway company -- on public-private partnership (PPP) basis, to connect various industrial hubs across the state.

The Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), and the Gujarat Industrial Corridor Company (GICC), will invest in the SPV, and will have the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC), and the Indian Railways as partners. The SPV will connect industrial hubs with important railway stations.

GICC and GIDC have entrusted DMICDC to commission an agency to draft a project report. It will also invite EoIs in the next couple of months. The quantum of equity to be invested by the SPV partners will be decided thereafter.

The new SPV is expected to invest Rs 4,000 crore in the project in the next three years, when it is expected to be commissioned. The partners are likely to invest nearly Rs 10 crore each initially as promoters' shares to set up the company and raise more funds thereafter for the project.

The new network will connect industrial hubs such as Sanand, Vitthalpur, Godhavi and the upcoming Mandal-Bahucharaji, and also DMIC and the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), with various industrial parks, transportation hubs and logistic centres to reduce costs and ensure hassle-free transportation of goods.