Central nod for furniture complex likely in January.

The Rs.100-crore ‘cluster of clusters’ project for the furniture industry proposed to come up at Karukutty, near Angamaly, is expected to get the final approval from the Union Ministry of Commerce in January.

The project has initially been approved by both the State and Union governments and a detailed project report has been submitted to the governments. The proposal will come up at the steering committee meeting of the Union Ministry in January, said K.P. Raveendran, managing director of Kerala Furniture Consortium.

The complex will have a total built-up area of three lakh square foot, which will be spread over five floors. It will house a technical and soft skill training facility; a design institute for the furniture industry; a permanent exhibition hall; a convention centre and a warehousing facility.

The Union government will provide 50 per cent of the project cost while the State government and the furniture unit will share equally the remaining portion of the project cost. To further the cause of the industry, furniture collectives have been formed in Malappuram, Kollam, Kannur and Thrissur.


THE HINDU