NICDC and Haryana Government Sign State Support & Shareholder Agreements for Hisar IMC

What was decided

On 20 August 2025, the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) programme reached a formal milestone: the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT), Government of Haryana and Haryana Airports Development Corporation (HADC) signed a State Support Agreement (SSA) and a Shareholder Agreement (SHA). The agreements were signed by Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of NICDC, Shri Rajat Kumar Saini; Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Haryana, Civil Aviation Department, Smt. Amneet P. Kumar; and Managing Director, HADC, Government of Haryana, Shri Narhari Singh Banger. Under this partnership, NICDC will assist the Haryana government in developing the Integrated Manufacturing Cluster (IMC) at Hisar.

The SSA sets out the state government's commitments — land, approvals and infrastructure backing — while the SHA governs the shareholding and operating structure of the joint project entity through which NICDC and the state will co-develop the cluster. This project is among 20 being implemented by NICDC in collaboration with state governments across the country.

Where and what: the site

IMC Hisar, spread across 2,988 acres, is being developed under the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor near the newly inaugurated Maharaja Agrasen International Airport, Hisar, Haryana. Strategically located between the EDFC and WDFC, it offers excellent connectivity via NH-52, NH-09, rail links, and proximity to major logistics hubs.

The IMC footprint sits alongside, not inside, the airport estate: of the airport precinct's 7,200 acres, 4,212 acres is for the airport and the remaining 2,988 acres is for the IMC. A separate report on the tendering process notes the land position going into the agreements: IMC Hisar began with a significant advantage as it has nearly 2,988 acres of encumbrance-free government land already transferred by the state government.

Financial and jobs figures behind the decision

With an investment potential of ₹32,417 crore and a project cost of ₹4,680 crore, it is expected to generate 1.25 lakh jobs. These are the figures NICDC and the Haryana government cited at the time of signing; they represent projected outcomes of the cluster's eventual build-out and private investment, not amounts disbursed on the signing date itself.

An earlier, pre-agreement planning report had floated a rougher sectoral break-up for the site: the proposed IMC project focussing on manufacturing of aero-space & defence equipment in 343.20 acres, engineering & fabrication in 289.80 acres, food processing in 172 acres, readymade garments manufacturing in 92.20 acres and manufacturing of common ready sheds in 12.73 acres, besides developing a logistic park in 70 acres. This was a draft planning allocation reported before the SSA/SHA signing and should be read as indicative only, pending the formal master plan.

Institutional and legal effect

The SSA and SHA convert AKIC's Hisar proposal from a announced concept into a structured joint undertaking. Practically, signing these two agreements:

• Legally binds the Haryana government to the state-support commitments (land, clearances, utilities backing) needed for NICDC to proceed;
• Establishes the shareholding framework for the joint project vehicle between NICDC/NICDIT and the state-side entity (HADC);
• Clears the way for the project company to begin procurement. Following the signing, the operating project company floated its first major works tender: the NICDC Haryana Integrated Manufacturing Cluster Hisar Project Limited (NHIMCHPL) floated a tender for the development of trunk infrastructure at the proposed IMC in Hisar under AKIC, to be executed on an EPC basis covering design, construction, testing, commissioning and O&M of the cluster's trunk infrastructure, at an estimated cost of Rs 707 crore, excluding O&M costs and GST.

Context: AKIC and the national programme

Hisar IMC is one node in a much larger corridor plan. AKIC is being developed by the Government of India as a major industrial corridor along the alignment of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor, covering a route length of 1,839 km across six states, proposed to be developed in a band of 150-200 km on either side of EDFC in a phased manner, with an influence area across seven states — Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The AKIC is a flagship national infrastructure initiative aimed at linking industrial and urban clusters across the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

Officials described the range of industries the cluster is meant to host: IMC Hisar will support industries in engineering, auto components, textiles, agro-processing, electronics, and logistics, while also integrating sustainability and green infrastructure practices.

Status since the signing (as of July 2026)

Progress after the SSA/SHA has been mixed. Trunk-infrastructure procurement moved forward with the Rs 707-crore EPC tender noted above. But on-ground pace has drawn official concern. A Tribune report from mid-2026 states: the sluggish pace of work is leading to delays in the proposed Integrated Manufacturing Cluster (IMC) near the airport in Hisar taking shape, a project being developed under NICDC as part of AKIC. The state government has responded by escalating reviews: in a high-level review meeting held on April 15 [2026], Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi reviewed the progress of the IMC-Hisar project and directed all concerned departments to ensure timely and expedited implementation of decisions related to the project.

Local industry has separately flagged that sector allocation is still being worked out on the ground: the president of the Hisar Industries Association said that while the announcement was a welcome step, industrialists were awaiting clarity on finer details, noting the MSME Department had suggested footwear and textile clusters that local industry considers not feasible for Hisar. As of mid-2026, IMC Hisar therefore remains at the trunk-infrastructure and planning stage — the SSA/SHA and initial EPC tendering are in place, but the cluster is not yet operational.