Chinese firm to sign MoU for setting up entertainment hub in Sonepat

Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda which operates in tourism, commercial property enterprise, e-commerce and department stores is all set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) for setting up a theme park and entertainment hub in about 3,000 acres of Industrial Model Township (IMT) at Kharkhauda in Sonepat.

The Wanda group, which operates over 100 Wanda Plazas, 68 five-star hotels, over 6,000 cinema screens and 99 department stores in China, is also exploring the possibility of establishing several commercial enterprises at Industrial Park in Lath-Bidal in Sonepat, where the land acquisition process is underway.

Wanda group chairman Wang Jianlin had met Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar in June to explore investment opportunities in the state following the China visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May. Modi and Jianlin had also held a roundtable meeting at Shanghai.

“The Wanda group had sent a draft MoU to the state government for consideration. We drafted a corresponding MoU and sent it to them. The group has given its concurrence to sign it,’’ said an HSIIDC official. In fact, the preference shown by Chinese conglomerate for Haryana over states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh is being dubbed as a major achievement by the state government.

LAND ALLOTMENT BY SWISS BIDDING METHOD

HSIIDC officials said that land for setting up the theme park and entertainment hub in Sonepat will be allotted using Swiss Challenge mechanism. The Swiss bidding mechanism allows a project proponent to make an offer to the government in terms of effectiveness, time and cost of a project. However, a second entity is allowed to make a better offer for the same project and the original project proponent is asked to counter match the offer. In case the original proponent is unable to match the counter proposal, then the project is awarded to the second entity.

MAHA NIVESH YOJANA

The project will be categorised under the Maha Nivesh Yojana listed in the Enterprise Promotion Policy of the state government. As per the Yojana, the state would support development of iconic projects in manufacturing enterprises, tourism, logistics, wholesale markets which bring in mega investment into the state and have a cascading impact on the local economy in particular and state economy in general. It is also expected to generate large-scale employment opportunities through a special dispensation including mixed land use. Land can be allotted to such projects to be developed on land area of minimum 500 acres with a minimum investment of `6,000 crore at a price to be decided by the government.