The Hindu Business Line : Site sought for jute park in Vizag dist

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Visakhapatnam Feb. 26 The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Industries has urged the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy, to allot a site for setting up a jute park in Visakhapatnam district, as jute is grown widely in the north-coastal districts of the State. In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister in Hyderabad on Monday, Mr B.V Rama Rao, the president of the FAPI and also the Managing Director of Swarnandhra Jute Mill, said the UPA Government at the Centre was giving many incentives for setting up jute parks and promoting jute diversified products (JDPs). "In the background, there is great potential for setting up such a park in the Visakhapatnam district, if the State Government allots a suitable site."

Mr Rama Rao said the jute park could house 10 large-scale JDP units, 20 medium units and 60 small and tiny ones. The park would require roughly 150 acres of land and an investment of Rs 500 crore, providing direct and indirect employment to roughly 20,000 people.

The project turnover in the initial stages would be Rs 200 crore and later it would rise to Rs 800 crore by the fourth or fifth year. The export turnover would be Rs 150 crore.

He said that at present there were nine composite jute mills in Andhra Pradesh, with the capacity of 530 MTs per day and 18 jute twine mills with 295 MTs capacity per day. The total capacity was 825 tonnes per day, he said.

However, there was still great potential for setting up units in the north-coastal districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts, where "mesta" (a variety of jute) is widely grown, he said.

He said that as an eco-friendly fibre jute was gaining great prominence of late and the JDPs were also being widely accepted in the domestic market as well as the export one. Considering the labour-intensive nature of the jute industry, he said, the jute industry required a lot of encouragement and the State Government should allot the required site for setting up the jute park, he pleaded in the memorandum.

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