Madura Lifestyle proposes greenfield textile unit in Odisha

To invest Rs 75 cr in three phases, unit to create 4,600 jobs

Madura Fashion & Lifestyle (MFL), an Aditya Birla Group enterprise, has proposed to set up a greenfield garment manufacturing unit in Odisha. It has sought 6-8 acres of developed land in Mancheswar industrial area in the city along with other incentive and concessions for putting up the facility.

MFL is the largest player in premium branded apparel segment known for brands like Allen Solly, Van Heusen, Louis Philippe and Peter England. The lifestyle player has lined up an investment of Rs 75 crore in three phases with an overall production capacity of 4.2 million pieces per annum for the Odisha unit.

Total manpower requirement is pegged at 4,600 in all the three phases. The company is keen to create 11 ancillary units around the proposed plant that include three washing units, three goods packaging units and five embroidery units. Madura has sought allotment of land at concessional rates, capital subsidy of 25 per cent on total investments made on the plant and an interest subsidy of five per cent on the overall investment.

The company has requested full waiver on VAT (value added tax) and central sales tax (CST) for eight years from the date of commencement of operation. It has also sought full reimbursement on entry tax on plant and machinery and capital goods and raw material inputs for production of finished goods.

“We are keenly looking at establishing our base for manufacturing and selling from the state of Odisha and meet the requirement of northern India market in future and developing in a phased manner a strong manufacturing and warehousing hub for MFL. We believe Odisha as a state has great potential for us to establish and develop our business due to availability of labour, stable socio political environment, good infrastructure and defined political and economic support for the growth of the industry in the state,” the company said in its proposal to the state government.

“Since this will be our first project in the state and being one of the early movers in setting up greenfield apparel garmenting unit, we are seeking active support from the state government towards infrastructure and incentives to make our investment attractive and financially viable,” it added.

In the first phase, MFL will pump in Rs 40 crore on the project to create a production capacity of two million pieces. The plant, in the first phase, is poised to generate sales of Rs 250 crore for the company. Currently, MFL's apparel manufacturing units produce about 15 million garments per annum.