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| State plans cold chain for Rs 100 cr |
| Mahesh Kulkarni / Chennai/ Bangalore Nov 05, 2009, 00:03 IST |
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Farmers in Karnataka need not throw their produce on the road anymore when they don’t get the right price as the state-owned agri produce export agency, Karnataka State Agricultural Produce Processing & Export Corporation Limited (Kappec), is setting up a chain of fruit and vegetable processing units at select locations in the state.
Kappec has opted for the public-private partnership (PPP) model to develop the integrated cold storage and multi-fruit processing units at Belgaum and Kolar for a combined investment of close to Rs 100 crore. The cold chain facility at Belgaum consists of pack house, pre-cooling unit, cold storage and allied activities with a storage capacity of 500 tonnes per day and the multi-fruit and vegetables processing unit at Kolar will have a capacity of 600 tonnes a day and it mainly processes mango and tomato.
K J Devendrappa, managing director, Kappec, said, “Our aim is to help farmers fetch better price and add value to their produce. We will help them store the produce longer and market it for higher returns in both domestic and export markets.”
The corporation had invited expressions of interest (EoI) for the project and 15 companies had evinced interest. It has awarded the contract to Belgaum-based Belgaum Agri Pvt Ltd for establishing an integrated cold chain at Belgaum and New Delhi-based Jai Hind Agro Pvt Ltd for establishing mango and tomato multi-fruit processing unit at Kolar, he told Business Standard.
Kappec board has already approved the proposal to take equity in both the projects and the final approval from the state government is awaited, he said.
As per the PPP model worked out by Kappec, the corporation will take a 30 per cent equity in the Belgaum cold storage project, which will have an investment of Rs 5 crore and 49 per cent equity in the Kolar multi-fruit processing unit, which will have an investment of Rs 93 crore. Kappec will have a board representation on both the boards of both the projects, Devendrappa said.
Kappec, which is appointed as the canalizing agency for the export of Bangalore Rose onion, has opened branch offices in Mumbai and Chennai recently. It now plans to tap exporters of onion from these regions by issuing no-objection certificate, he said.
The corporation has already set up an integrated cold chain facility at Kushtagi in Raichur district for the export of pomegranates for an investment of Rs 8.6 crore. It will buy pomegranates from farmers directly, grade them and then export them, he added.
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