OSIC to set up mega food park in Jharsuguda

The Odisha Small Industries Corporation (OSIC) plans to set up a mega food park in Jharsuguda district. The proposed park, to come up over 58 acres of land, will process chilly and sweet water fish.

"We will set up a mega food park in Jharsuguda district for chilly and sweet water fish processing. We have sought 58 acres of land on lease from the district administration," said an OSIC official.

After getting the land, the detailed project report will be prepared. OSIC will move the Centre for inclusion of the park in the mega food park scheme of the Government of India, he added. Recently, chief secretary GC Pati had asked OSIC to identify locations for five mega food parks and prepare the feasibility reports. OSIC is yet to identify the locations for balance four food parks.

At a meeting of the state level coordination committee of mega food parks, held under the chairmanship of state chief secretary, it was decided that 20 new agro/food processing parks would be set up in the state. The Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) is assigned the task to identify locations for 15 mega food parks.

Idco has entrusted the job of identifying the locations for these food parks to International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of World Bank.

Recently, the Union ministry of food processing industries has approved a proposal to set up a sea food park at Deras in Khurda district.

This park, to be built by Idco at a cost of Rs 116.26 crore, will ramp up the sea food processing capacity in the state by 60,000 tonne per annum. The park will accommodate 41 sea food processing units within its premises. The state government has come out with its food processing policy that provides a special capital investment subsidy up to Rs 15 crore along with other sops.

In the state, MITS mega food park is in the process of implementation in Rayagada district while the proposal of Huma Mega Coastal Food Park for setting up of a food processing complex in Ganjam district under the Mega Food Parks Scheme was rejected by the Centre recently.