Industrialists stay away from export promotion park

Over three years have passed since the UP State Industrial Development Corporation set up the Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP), at the Sikandra industrial area in Agra, to facilitate the setting up of export oriented industrial units in the state, but industrialists have so far refrained from setting up there units in the EPIP for the lack of infrastructural facilities.

Out of over 160 industrial plots being allotted to various units of the city, barely a dozen had begun operating from the EPIP so far while another twenty have built up their infrastructure but have not yet moved in to begin operations from the EPIP.

Worried by the lack-luster response of the industrialists on this ambitious project, the UPSIDC has decided to first complete the pending infrastructural work at the EPIP before asking the industrialists to move into the park.

According to Mr. B.P. Kureel, Regional Manager UPSIDC, the EPIP had been constructed in 100 acres of land and all 160 plots in the park had been allotted to the industrialists of the town but only 15 industrial units had begun functioning in the park so far.

He said that the primary reason of the industrialists refraining from entering the EPIP was that the park was located outside the city with no direct approach road. The only road that led to the park was bisected by the Agra-Delhi railway line, which, being an extremely busy track caused frequent delays in reaching the EPIP.

As a solution to this problem, he said, the UPSIDC has decided to bypass the railway track by constructing a Railway Over-Bridge (ROB) on which, the construction had already begun and it shall be completed within the next 15 months.

Besides, he said, there were another 249 industrial units functioning in the site-C of Sikandra that were facing the same problems and shall also be benefited by this ROB.

He said that the Managing Director of UPSIDC shall be soon holding a meeting with the local industrialists to arrive on a "master plan" to develop the Sikandra industrial area.