Work on industrial estate to start in April

Madurai: The construction of building at the land provided for establishing an exclusive industrial estate for women entrepreneurs within the SIDCO Kappalur Industrial Estate, near here, would be starting from April this year.

The land allotment process is nearing completion and production will start within the next six months of allotment, according to Mr V.S. Manimaran, Vice-President, Kappalur Industrial Estate Manufacturers Association and Co-coordinator for the proposed women entrepreneurs’ industrial estate.

It will provide direct employment to 1,000 persons and indirect employment to another 1,000, he said.

Eighty-five applications were received for allotment of 75 plots and 70 have been allotted by the Screening Committee.

Of the remaining five plots, four are kept unassigned due to a stay order obtained by the unsuccessful applicants from the Court and one plot is to be given to shop owners, he told Business Line here on Tuesday.

Fifty-five plots have an area each of 25-26 cents and the remaining measure 30-40 cents each.

The efforts to form the estate was taken nearly three years ago but the process got delayed over the determination of price for the plots.

The issue has been amicably settled and the prospective entrepreneurs were asked to initially pay 15 per cent of the value of the land to facilitate allotment and start the construction work.

Sixty-two of them have paid the amount and the remaining entrepreneurs have asked for some more time.

The plots are likely to be handed over to entrepreneurs by March, he said.

He said arrangements have been made for the purchase of land under hire-purchase system from SIDCO and efforts are on to get eligible investment subsidy from Khadi and Village Industries Commission and through the District Industries Centre under the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme, depending on the level of investment by the entrepreneurs.

Investments vary from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore. As most of them are first time entrepreneurs, the Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation is being approached for loan for plant and machinery without insistence on collateral security.

Twenty-seven women entrepreneurs have undergone training at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development in the city recognised by the Department of Science and Technology and another batch will start their training in February.

The industries to come up are in the field of textiles, garments, furniture, building materials, manufacture of paper cups, soaps, fibre glass roofing sheets, plastic and rubber items, he added.