Building trade-ready infrastructure in India’s emerging cities

India's exports touched $ 437 billion in FY24, and the government is targeting exports of over $1 trillion by 2030. SMEs contribute nearly 45% of India's total exports, with over 63 million MSMEs based primarily in non-metro cities. India's economic transformation is no longer restricted to its metropolitan hubs. Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, once considered peripheral to industrial growth, are rapidly becoming central to the country's global trade aspirations. These cities are emerging as critical nodes in global supply chains amid shifting geopolitical realities, supply chain diversification, and realignment of global sourcing strategies.

While India is placing major bets on infrastructure with an aim to move from being just a fast-growing consumer market to a hub for global trade, trade infrastructure needs to keep pace with the aspirations of a Vikshit Bharat. It must go beyond connecting highways to ports or building another industrial park, to be more about designing ecosystems where commerce can thrive, exports can scale, and businesses can move forward with certainty.

Too often, infrastructure is discussed as a matter of engineering. Build the bridge. Expand the port. Lay the track. But commerce does not thrive on asphalt alone. For businesses, what matters is whether these assets reduce costs, reduce uncertainty, and open new markets.

While physical infrastructure such as transportation and telecommunication network is vital, business infrastructure adds another essential dimension for the success of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Business connectivity fosters holistic development by supporting business communities, creating employment opportunities amongst other benefits.

Commerce-friendly infrastructure also means embedding digital tools. Smart logistics systems that allow exporters to track consignments in real time or customs processes that cut clearance from days to hours are as important as the physical road. This is where industrial corridors also need to embed “Industry 4.0” practices as core design principles.

According to NITI Aayog, cities like Nashik, Indore, Coimbatore, Surat and Nagpur are seeing industrial growth at par and even outpacing metros in certain sectors. Nashik, for instance, has evolved into a major pharmaceutical and precision engineering hub. Coimbatore is a rising textile and engineering city, and Surat constitutes nearly 90% of the world's diamond cutting and polishing business.

Nashik is an emerging city in India due to its robust growth in IT, data, automobile, and defense manufacturing sectors, coupled with a thriving real estate market and a high quality of life. Factors like its pleasant climate, clean environment, and smart city initiatives are making it an attractive destination for jobs, investment, and a balanced lifestyle. The upcoming World Trade Centre (WTC) Nashik located strategically on the Mumbai–Agra Highway near the Samruddhi Expressway will offer over 9.21 lakh sq. ft. of built-up space designed for global trade integrated into a world-class, digitally enabled ecosystem tailored for exporters, investors, and enterprises.

Kozhikode, on the Malabar Coast in Kerala has become a model city because of its commitment to infrastructure, education, and inclusive development. The city and its port have always had a strong trading legacy, and Its strategic location makes it a pivotal trading hub in the Indian Ocean, with sea routes connected to East Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and China. The recently announced WTC Kozhikode, a landmark project with 12.5 million sq. ft will connect Kozhikode to global routes positioning the city as a major hub for business, trade, and education and will amplify Kozhikode's growth by attracting multinational companies, global integration, economic acceleration, international educational institutions, and infrastructure development.

The National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP) is India's most ambitious attempt to replicate cluster-style success across regions. Each corridor is designed not just as a road or rail link but as a growth spine. The Chennai-Bengaluru corridor is fuelling electronics and auto-manufacturing. The Amritsar-Kolkata corridor aims to lift agro-processing and textiles in eastern India. The East Coast Economic Corridor is meant to link Indian ports with Southeast Asia.

Logistics parks sit at the heart of this vision. They provide the warehousing, cold chain, and digital integration that exporters need. A container reaching a port quickly is valuable. A container reaching a port with real-time digital documentation, minimal detention, and assured cold storage is invaluable. Smart cities add another layer to ensure sustainable development and inclusive growth, while factoring in dynamics such as economic, social, and environmental factors.

A good example of a successful smart city in Asia is WTC Binh Duong New City (BDNC) that won the Intelligent Community of the Year award at Intelligent Community Forum's (ICF) Global Summit in New York in 2023. The city in Vietnam has been leveraging WTCA's global network and ecosystem of economic development agencies, real estate developers, universities, logistical hubs, airports, and Free Trade Zones (FTZs) from around the world. It acts as a catalyst, contributing to growth and innovation in the area through B2B programmes and events, as well as the premium business facilities such as branded office buildings and an exhibition centre. Today, the region has emerged as an innovation ecosystem with a growing number of tech labs, raised standard of living and improved access to services through technology — giving a fillip to trade, innovation, and sustainability in the country.

The softer side of infrastructure often gets ignored. Zoning laws and land use regulations can make or break trade clusters. If exporters cannot find land with clear titles, if approvals take years, or if industrial use zoning is too restrictive, even the best corridor remains underutilised.

Urban zoning in India is still designed around traditional categories — residential, commercial and industrial — with little recognition of the hybrid spaces modern trade requires. Logistics hubs, for example, are neither purely industrial nor purely commercial. They need their own category, with flexible norms for warehousing, cold chain, and digital infrastructure.

Simplifying zoning laws would unlock investment quickly. It would also create fairness by ensuring smaller exporters and MSMEs are not shut out of prime spaces. Just as importantly, zoning reform would reduce informal practices that still dominate land allocation in many states.

Building trade-ready infrastructure in emerging Indian cities is not a one-time project. It is an ongoing process of integration, learning, and course correction. The principles are clear: Connectivity must be multi-modal, infrastructure must enable commerce not just movement, clusters must be nurtured through specialisation, and zoning must adapt to the needs of modern trade.

India's Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are no longer the future but are the current growth engines. Reimagining them as globally connected trade hubs will not only accelerate India's exports but also make supply chains more resilient and inclusive.

Recent government initiatives such as PM Gati Shakti, Make in India, and the National Logistics Policy are further accelerating infrastructure investments in these growth corridors. Yet, despite this momentum, challenges exist especially in the last-mile trade infrastructure, logistics optimization, international connectivity, and B2B integration with global markets.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can be a key driver of resilience especially in emerging markets. To attract investments and position these cities as hubs for global capital requires a strategic approach that focuses on leveraging local strengths, creating a favourable fiscal and tax framework supported by business-friendly policies, transparency in governance, and effective dialogue between local authorities and the private sector. The road ahead requires collaboration — between governments, trade bodies, infrastructure developers, and global networks, and we are committed to playing our part in building that future.

WTCA's expansion strategy includes embedding WTC businesses in Special Economic Zones (SEZs), FTZs, smart cities, industrial parks, airports, and universities. We believe our integrated approach will ensure that MSMEs in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are not just manufacturing competitively but trading globally.

This article is authored by Scott Wang, vice president, Asia Pacific, World Trade Centers Association.

Source: HindustanTimes
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