PANAJI: With the average bid price increasing by 80% in the previous e-auction of industrial plots, Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) expects strong interest in the sixth round of the e-auction, which will be held next week. GIDC officials expect the pharmaceutical sector and the logistics industry to show keen interest in the 20 industrial plots at Verna that are being auctioned.
“At the last auction, the biggest plots were taken by pharmaceutical industries. One was Fertin and the other was Centaur, and given the existing pharmaceutical ecosystem in Goa, companies would want to acquire land here. Companies within Goa want to expand in the future. We are also seeing people from warehousing keen on this e-auction,” said GIDC MD, Pravimal Abhishek.
Most of the pharmaceutical units in Goa were set up when Goa was offering a tax holiday to manufacturing units. GIDC has taken the interest shown by pharmaceutical companies — even though no tax breaks are being offered and when land is being auctioned — as an indication that investor sentiment in Goa is on a strong footing.
“People want to invest in Goa, and are ready to pay a higher price for land. We are trying to build on that sentiment and continue with the same momentum for another year,” said Abhishek.
The average bid price at GIDC’s e-auctions went up by 80%, from Rs 5,600 per sqm in the first round to Rs 9,906 per sqm in the fifth round. The land premium collected by GIDC also increased six times, with GIDC going from raking in Rs 13.9 crore in the first round to Rs 156.6 crore in the fifth round.
GIDC said the simplification of the allotment and auction norms led to greater investor sentiment. “In the first to fourth round of auctions, most plots had single bidders. In round five, after the new regulations were notified, 81% of the plots received multiple bids,” said Abhishek.
