To help the foundry and steel processing units in the state to survive the economic downturn which had seen over 60 units to down their shutters, the Howrah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) and West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation (WBSIDC) have floated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to set up a 1,000-acre steel processing cluster park.
The economic meltdown had seen units being shut, resulting in job losses of close to 150,000 across India.
Most West Bengal foundry units were in the SME segment and the 60 closed foundry units resulted in job losses of around 40,000. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) which were in the foundry sector could now move away from the congested and heavily populated city areas of Howrah to a planned and pollution-free industrial environment with state-of-the-art common facilities which a small unit could never afford, thanks to this HCCI and WBSIDC joint project called Bengal HCCI Infrastructure Limited in Amta, said S K Sanyal, president of HCCI.
WBSIDC holds 11 per cent in the SPV while the balance is with the HCCI. The area required for the steel processing cluster park, located off the National Highway 6, was estimated to be spread over 1,000 acres.
Sanyal said, the project, to be executed in phases, would in the first phase need 375 acres, of which 255 acres have already been purchased directly by 130 HCCI members. Another 375 acres would be developed in the second phase and the rest in the third phase. Over 500 units were expected to be relocated within this cluster, including rolling mills, steel processing, foundry and small engineering units.
The estimated cost for the first phase, to be completed by 2012, was Rs 400 crore. It was expected to generate over 5,000 jobs for both skilled and semi-skilled labourers, said Sanyal. Manabendra Mukherjee, Bengal’s minister for MSMEs, textile and tourism, said the project was expected to generate employment and help modernise existing foundry units close to being shut.due to current market crisis.
MSME foundry units now operating in congested areas in Howrah would be relocated to separate clusters for segments with common conferencing, testing, production and processing facilities.
The SPV would develop the infrastructure. Around 300 HCCI members had applied for land inside the park, said Sanyal.
HCCI backed this project as most MSME foundry units were in the Howrah area, making it the hub of all kinds of steel processing activity.
