Better planning

Construction of the ESDM park in Tuem needs to speed up

| JANUARY 11, 2016, 12:00 AM IST

Seven months after the stone was laid at the site of the proposed Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) park in Virnoda, Tuem, there is still a lull in the area. Nothing much has been done, apart from work on an approach road to the area. Until now, the detailed project report is still being made. But there are still questions as to how the park will function and when it will come up.

The information and communication technology industry is vast but a viable industry. Electronic system design and manufacturing is one of the fastest growing sectors of this industry and the time to take advantage of opportunities is now. But, for that, the government of Goa has to be proactive. It has only been seven months, so perhaps a few things can be forgiven but there has to be a large picture visible here other than just the building of the park.

A government builds zones like this, or industrial estates to further the economic outlook of the neighbouring regions. When the detailed project report does come out, there will be a timeline in place for many things - the building of the park, the inviting of companies to come and invest here, as well as a plan to improve on the economic conditions of the local community by creating jobs. In most skill based jobs like manufacturing, the period for study is a minimum of two years. If there are graduates to be churned out at the local ITI or from the nearby colleges, with skillsets to match those required by the ESDM industry, then the time to plan and implement would be now.

Jobs are just one aspect of this. In fact, jobs are in many ways a future plan. The immediate issue is that of making the ESDM park viable for industries to want to invest there. Is there adequate transport infrastructure? What are the facilities to be provided? Will it be a plug and play model? By now, there should have been some sort of planning framework in place, the lack of which should be alarming.

Seven months is a short span of time, but in the scheme of things, when it comes to an industry like this, seven months can be a lifetime. The government of Goa needs to speed things up in order to adequately take advantage of a growing industry like this. In the metros, industrial areas can be planned in a matter of months, and built as quickly as they can too. It’s all about properly ‘exploiting’ a growing industry.

Goa needs to get its act together and focus on the state’s economic growth. At the same time, it also has to ensure that everything is in place to improve on education, jobs, connectivity and more in the sector.

With their backs to the wall, the government built the infrastructure for the Lusofonia Games with lightening speed. Of course, there is more quality control required here but perhaps there is a need for some of that gumption when it comes to planning and building the ESDM park in Tuem.

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