Karnataka government will soon revive the four food technology parks which had failed to take off even after four years of their initiation, said V Madhu, managing director, Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation.
Speaking to reporters at the investor meet on food processing sector here, Madhu said food parks in Malur, Hiriyur, Jewargi and Bagalkot will come up in another six months under the public-private partnership model.
It was in September 2004 that these parks were initiated under the Food Agro Technology Parks scheme. Each park would involve an investment of Rs 18 crore, of which the Union government as well as the Karnataka government were to provide funding of up to Rs 4 crore each. Bids from private players were invited in 2004-05 and a special purpose vehicle was also floated to manage the project.
However, due to issues related to land and water, there has been an inordinate delay in setting up the parks,
Madhu said. The state has taken all necessary steps to sort out these issues and the Malur park will come up in the next two months, followed by the remaining parks, he added.
Apart from this, the state has also taken up feasibility study for seven more food technology parks, as proposed in the budget. These parks, with an aim to give a boost to the food processing industry, will be set up in Bangalore rural, Chikmagalur, Davanagere, Tumkur, Shimoga, Belgaum and Bijapur districts. Tenders from interested parties will be called in January 2009, he said.
Earlier, speaking after inaugurating the investor meet on food processing sector, Subodh Kant Sahai, Union minister of State for food processing industries, said Karnataka should make use of the Rs 50 crore grant proposed by the Centre and should come forward to establish a mega food park in the state.
Karnataka, a state known for information technology and biotechnology should extend its success story to the food processing industry by setting up a mega food park, he suggested. Sahai lamented that though the Centre is willing to bear a significant part of the project cost, there are no takers for the mega food park so far.
For the 11th five year plan, the Union government has plans to set up 30 mega food parks across India. Of them, 10 are earmarked for 2008-09. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and West Bengal are the states identified for the project.
Each park is estimated to involve an investment of Rs 150 crore, of which Rs 50 crore will be coming from the Centre and the remaining has to be borne by the respective state governments and private entrepreneurs.
Each park needs land in the range of 50-100 acres. The mega food park will have all facilities under one roof, right from procuring food crops from farmers to distributing the processed and packaged food to the market. It will have a primary processing unit, a central processing unit, a quality control lab and a distribution centre.
Food processing industry is relatively unaffected by the financial meltdown. From 6.7 per cent growth in 2003-04, the industry has now achieved an impressive growth rate of 14 per cent. The Union ministry provides funding for processing fruit, vegetable, poultry products, fish and milk processing to states under various schemes. Karnataka, with its thriving horticulture sector, should take the lead by introducing incentives to the industry in the form of tax benefits and easing food procurement and marketing norms, he noted.
