Comments
The Karnataka government has given the green signal to Kerala-based Kitex Garments to invest ₹493 crore for a ready-made garments unit in Hassan, Karnataka.
BusinessLine had reported in November 2016 that Kitex Garments was looking to set up an export-oriented garments unit for infants in Hassanat an investment of ₹500 crore.
Talking to BusinessLine from Kizhakambalam near Kochi in Kerala, the Chairman and Managing Director of Kitex Garments, Sabu M Jacob, said: “The government of Karnataka has given approval to the project. Now depending on how fast the government clearances come through, the project will start. Our plan is to start commercial production by March 2019.”
Projects cleared
At a recent meeting, Karnataka’s State Level Single Window Clearance Committee cleared 52 new projects worth ₹5,233.82 crore. Of this, investments worth ₹2,369.56 crore are slated to be made in Bengaluru.
“An investment of ₹2,864.26 crore has been approved for places outside Bengaluru. This reiterates the constant endeavour of the government to have overall industrial development of the State,” said a release from the State Information Department.
Jacob said the garments unit would be housed in a steel building, which would be imported from the Gulf, most probably from Saudi Arabia. It will be nut-and-bolts job and would be set up very fast.
“Initially, the unit will have capacity of 1,500 to 2,000 people. In Phase 1, it will produce up to 2-lakh pieces of infants garments. After that, we will expand every six months. We intend to complete the expansion by 2021.”
However, Andhra Pradesh is also aggressively wooing Kitex Garments to take the company’s investment to that State. For that, the State government is offering many sops to the company.
“The Andhra Pradesh government has given us some very compelling proposals to invest in that State. For instance, it has offered us free land, support in setting up the building, power at ₹1 per unit and salary for the staff for three years.”
Comparatively, power in Karnataka is being offered at ₹6-7 per unit. ESI and employer’s contribution to Employee’s Provident Fund are, however, being offered by both States.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.