Gamma Agro-Medical Processing Private Limited, a newly incorporated company of Hyderabad-based Gamma Weld Inspection Services, is setting up a commercial food irradiation plant in Medak district. | |
| Coming up on three acres at the Export Promotion Industrial Park in IDA-Pashamylaram, the Rs 5.56-crore plant is expected to start commercial operations by the third week of May this year. |
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| "Machinery has already been installed and the project is expected to be completed by this month-end. We intend to start a 15-day trial run from the first week of May and commercial operations after getting statutory clearances," PB Kaginalli, managing director of Gamma Agro-Medical, told mediapersons here. |
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| The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) would provide the necessary technology to Gamma Agro for running the plant. This would be the first commercial food irradiation plant in south India. At present, there are six such plants in the country "" two under the public sector in Mumbai, and one each in Baroda, Agra, Kolkata and Delhi. |
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| According to Kaginalli, the plant would have an installed processing capacity of 25,000 tonnes of spices a year. "To start with, we have set a target of processing around 10,000 tonnes of spices this year," he said. |
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| Besides spices, fruits, dry fruits and herbal products, the company would process surgical disposables including syringes, IV sets, blood transfusion sets and suture materials, to mitigate financial hurdles. Gamma, however, plans to take this up in the second phase. |
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| "Depending on the produce and its price, we intend to fix the processing cost between Rs 3 and Rs 8 per kg," Kaginalli said, adding that the company expects to garner a good chunk of business from Nagpur and the bordering Karnataka. |
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| Gamma's commercial plant would employ around 10 technicians and 15 non-skilled workmen, besides providing indirect employment to over 100 people. The company expects close to Rs 3 crore revenues from the plant in the first year. |
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