Mega food park opens in Assam for food processing industry

North East Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd has been operationalised at Nalbari (Assam) with the inauguration of the central processing centre (CPC) of the park by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, minister for food processing industries, in presence of Assam CM Tarun Gogoi on May 28, 2015.
 
To give a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage and loss at each stage of the supply chain with particular focus on perishables, ministry of food processing industries is implementing a mega food park scheme in the country since 2008. Under this scheme, the ministry had sanctioned a mega food park to North East Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd at Nalbari, Assam.
 
North East Mega Food Park has been set up in 50 acre of land at the cost of Rs 76 crore. This project is having facilities of fully operational industrial sheds for SMEs, developed industrial plots for lease to food processing units, dry warehouse of 10000 MT, cold storages of 3000 MT, common effluent treatment plant, quality control labs, etc. The park also has a common administrative building for office and other uses by the entrepreneurs. Six primary processing centres (PPCs) are also proposed to be set up at Nagaon, Badarpur, Tinsukia, Barapani, Krishnai and Kajalgaon which will provide facilities for primary processing and storage near the farms.
 
Badal said that the mega food park will leverage an additional investment of about Rs 250 crore in 30-35 food processing units in the park and generate a turnover of about Rs 450-500 crore annually. The park is estimated to provide direct and indirect employment to 6000 people and benefit about 25000-30000 farmers in the CPC and PPC catchment areas.
 
Badal added that the modern infrastructure for food processing created at North East Mega Food Park will benefit the farmers, growers, processors and consumers of Assam and adjoining areas immensely and prove to be a big boost to the growth of the food processing sector in Assam.