Union Minister for Chemicals and Petrochemicals Ananth Kumar today laid the foundation stone for the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) at Surampalli village on the outskirts of the city.
Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and a host of other leaders also attended the event.
CIPET is one of the premier national institutes being set up in Andhra Pradesh following the bifurcation of the state.
While the state government has provided 12 acres of land for the institute, the Centre sanctioned Rs 50.73 crore.
CIPET began its training programmes temporarily from the Vijayawada Auto Cluster Development Company in August last year, offering specialised practical training in plastics engineering and technology.
So far, 675 candidates were provided training of whom 80 per cent secured jobs.
Existing plastic industries in the state at Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Kakinada, Guntur and Renigunta now hope to get trained skilled manpower once CIPET becomes fully functional, offering various diploma, graduate and post-graduate courses.
The Centre plans to train around 14,500 persons under 'STAR' - Skill Development, Technology-Support Services, Academic and Research in all the domains of plastics engineering and technology in the next three years to aid the growth of plastics and allied industries in the country.
While currently there are 28 CIPETs in different parts of the country, a few more will be opened in tune with the demands of the industry, an official release said.
As per the industry estimates, 1.18 million persons are directly employed in the plastics processing industries while the additional manpower requirement by 2023-24 will be 1.16 million.
