With India not being a major beneficiary after the dismantling of the multi-fibre agreement (MFA) since January 2005 due to cost disabilities and availability of adequate skilled personnel in the high-end garment business, the Brandix India Apparel City (BIAC) here is slowly but steadily overcoming the odds to make headway to become a key apparel hub.

Located in the Andhra Pradesh Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) Atchutapuram here, BIAC is a vertically integrated manufacturing zone geared to bolster large-scale knitting, garmenting, finishing and printing and embellishments.

Talking to a group of visiting journalists from the Capital on a sponsored visit to the State SEZ zone by the Ministry of Commerce, the BIAC Director, Mr Vinu Sudan, explained that the apparel city comprises a processing zone of 750 acres and 250 acres of non-processing zones with “excellent and world-class infrastructure being already in place”.

He said eight manufacturing units began their operations in the BIAC with three of them Brandix Apparel India (BAI), Ocean India (a joint venture between a fabric firm from Hong Kong and BAI) and Seeds Intimate Apparel having started exports from the apparel city.

He said five other units were at different stages of completing their construction. Once all the eight companies go full stream in a couple of years, they would have pumped in $100 million for factory infrastructure development.

Largest textile-specific SEZ

Eventually, he said, the objective is to make the BIAS the largest textile-industry-specific SEZ in the world so that the projection is that, once fully developed, it would house as many as 20 apparel manufacturing units, three fabric mills, eight accessories' manufacturers, one finishing plant and multiple ancillary service providers.

At the main plant of BAI, hundreds of workers operate in a double shift to manufacture inner wear and garments with technical support from Sri Lankans and the company is into the second year of manufacturing.

exports

As BAI began surmounting initial settling-down problems, the company which began full operation last fiscal has exported textile products worth more than Rs 200 crore, he said, adding that once all the plants in the pipeline get into full throttle, the projected investment in the BIAC would be $1.2 billion, creating 60,000 jobs.

Besides, the BIAC would link global brands, manufacturing operations and service providers in a synergistic convergence in a bid to consolidate the South Asian region's strength as a major apparel hub. So far, employment generated is more than 10,000, he said.

A site visit to Ocean India Ltd revealed that the plant is churning out 18 tonnes per day (TPD) of fabrics with plans to produce 50 TPD of weft-knitted fabric as it has adequate space to accommodate one more plant. The finished products which now go as raw material to the garment unit of BAI would also be exported to overseas market once the installed capacity is fully utilised, a spokesperson of the Ocean India Ltd said.

Effluent tereatment

With garment manufacturing involving effluent waste as the chemicals used need to be duly disposed of, Mr Sudan said an effluent treatment system with a capacity of 56 million litres per day and two effluent guard ponds each of 120 million litre capacity remaining in place.

The waste water that is generated is also recycled, he said, adding that the BIAC-run community projects in the area lay due stress on water health, sanitation , community empowerment and education in line with the parent Sri Lankan business group Brandix's commitment to employees and the community.

> geeyes@thehindu.co.in

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