Field Trip to Indian SEZs in VCIC Region

Commissioned by Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Department of Regional Development Planning of CDI launched the study on development strategy and policies on SEZs in the region of India’s Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) on March 1, 2015. The project’s inception report was submitted on March 16, 2015. From April 23 to 30, Vice President Qu Jian, Mr. Zhou Zhenbang, Senior Consultant of the department and Deputy Secretary-General of China Association of Development Zones, and Researcher Jin Xiaojia had carried out a field study in India and visited the India’s Capital New Delhi, and cities of Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Kakinada, Vijayawada in the state of Andhra Pradesh. During the tour, on-site research on SEZs in the region was conducted, and interviews with various government officials, SEZs developers and local entrepreneurs were carried out to locate the key challenges confronted by Indian SEZs in terms of management, development and policy design. In the next stage, the project team will propose a set of practical solutions for revitalizing SEZs in the VCIC region by drawing upon successful SEZ models around the world.