Trident to put in Rs 1,000 cr in MP

Abhishek Industries to up investment by Rs 500 crore

Trident group firm Abhishek Industries Ltd has plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh in a fabric unit, provided the state government allocates land area at a suitable location.

Earlier in January, according to a report in this newspaper, MP Industrial Development Corporation officials, after holding discussions with Abhishek Industries executives, had said the firm would invest Rs 500 crore. The firm will soon submit the proposal before the apex empowerment committee on investment.

The firm has also changed the venue of investment from the Satlapur growth centre in Mandideep (18 km from Bhopal) to Budni. Senior executives of the company and officials of the Madhya Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (MPSIDC) discussed the plan recently.

"They have plans to invest anything between Rs 400 and 500 crore in Satlapur (Mandideep) industrial growth centre," Raghav Chandra, managing director MPSIDC had told Business Standard. But a company executive said, "Satlapur has water supply problem, while Budni site is near Narmada river. Our investment is bigger than what Verdhman group is making. Textile units can come up around Narmada belt only where adequate water supply is ensured." Verdhman group is also setting up a textile unit in Budni with an investment of Rs 750 crore.

He further said, "Initially the plan was to make Rs 850 crore investment which may go up to Rs 1000 crore and will create direct employment for 3000 people. The unit will have capacity of 200,000 spindles. The construction work will begin on the unit soon after the clearance on land allotment is received from the state government. We will complete the work within a year."

The company has demanded a land area of 1,000 acres to which MPSIDC is said to acquire 100 acres of land for plant and machinery set up. The company will set up a sheeting fabric, terry towel and yarn unit which will be 100 per cent export oriented unit.

"We will primarily produce sheeting fabric. We are demanding for land in Budni but we have other state as options also if things do not materialize here," the source said.

Despite a water supply problem the Madhya Pradesh government wants to develop the industrial growth centre as Textile Park. Although a number of textile manufacturers have evinced interest, water being available at Rs 12.50 per kiloliter, makes it a costly location to set up a fabric unit.

Moreover, poor cotton handling and ginning facilities, substandard quality of power and poor local infrastructure facilities have put the site at a dis-advantage. Roads connecting Mandideep and Bhopal are also in bad shape. Infrastructure and environment issues are blocking the growth of existing and new industrial units.