The Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) has put up 31 industrial plots at Verna for auction in a bid to clear the debt taken in May 2019 to repay five SEZ promoters.
The 31 plots are part of a five lakh sq mtr tranche that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) is e-auctioning on behalf of GIDC.
GIDC is offering the industrial plots which range from 1,506 sq mtr to 45,000 sq mtr, on long-term lease with the initial period being for 30 years. The base rate for the plots has been fixed at Rs 5,000 per sq mtr and the plots will be allotted to the highest bidder through a two-step process.
The lease can be extended for a total term of 95 years, in case the industry is fully set up and in operation within the first five years.
On 30 December 2019, the industries department asked GIDC to auction five lakh sq mtr of the repossessed SEZ land in order to repay the short-term loan of Rs 200 crore taken in May 2019. GIDC had a one-year moratorium on the repayment of principal, which ended in May 2020 and since then GIDC has been paying approximately Rs four crore in EMIs to repay the loan.
Of the five lakh sq mtr earmarked for e-auction, 4.42 lakh sq mtr is being auctioned with the remaining being kept as open space and for further development at a later stage. A utility plot has been earmarked for setting up of sub-station by the electricity department.
GIDC failed in an earlier attempt to appoint a consultant to auction the land repossessed from promoters of the SEZ so GIDC decided to adopt NIC’s e-auction platform.
The allottee will have to start commercial operations within a period of three years from the date of possession and if the allottee fails to commence construction after two years or fails to start operations even after a period of four years GIDC will reclaim the industrial plot. A pre-bid meeting with potential bidders has been slated for 29 September 2021 and the final bids have to be submitted by 21 October 2021.