PAPL elicits 'tepid' response

Spread over 100 acres, the Punjab Apparel Park Limited (PAPL), which envisaged putting Ludhiana among top apparel producer cities in the world, depicts a pitiable outlook. With the demarcation for 90 plots and work like laying of sewerage pipe, water pipe line and effluent pipes in place, officials certainly were anticipating better response from the assignees of the plots .

PAPL, a joint venture of Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation Ltd (PSIEC) and Apparel Association of Ludhiana (APPEAL), is a special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set up to develop 85 acre Apparel Park( envisaged to come over 100 acre) Forty apparel parks under the Scheme for Integrated Textile (SITP) by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, have been approved, out of which 3 are coming in Punjab.

Even as allotment of 90 demarcated plots out of the total 105 industrial plots was completed last year only, only few of the allotted players have shown interest in building structures. Jain Udey Fabrics Private Limited - the lone operational factory at Punjab Apparel Park, caught fire earlier this year and the operations have also come to standstill. The officials believe slowdown in the global economy earlier had hit the export orders of apparel producers from Ludhiana who still are circumspect of making any expansion movement. Satish Bansal from Shreya Knitters (P) Ltd, who also is one of the assignee of the industrial plot, maintained that export orders have dried up since the slowdown. “Even as few of the exporters have started receiving orders, the margins are so squeezed that no exporters right now is thinking of making any expansion plans, till clouds of uncertainty dispel”.