Gandhi city to raise funds

BANGALORE: Gandhi City for Advanced Research Development Ltd, which has received approvals to set up the country's first Research and Development(R&D) based Special Economic Zone (SEZ), will shortly raise US $25 million, as the first phase of investment for the project.Gandhi City project promoter, two top Private Equity (PE) firms have evinced interest in investing in Gandhi City, which is in the process of creating an ecosystem to foster collaboration between the industry and research organizations near Ramanagara, 30 km from the city.The SEZ project will have four phases of investment, spread across 10 years and it will raise US $600 million through various routes."The total project outlay is Rs 2,620 crore. Our plan is to replace minor investors by bringing in PE funds. It will be equivalent to 9 per cent of the total shareholding of Gandhi City," says Giri Devanur, promoter, Gandhi City SEZ.The process of acquiring 350 acres of land for the project is on, Devanur said.The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), the nodal agency for land acquisition in Karnataka, will complete the process shortly.The SEZ will be spread over 1,000 acres, housing research labs, incubation centres, and technology testing facilities.