Kinfra subsidiary to set up incubation unit in Calicut

The Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) is setting up an incubation centre and a quality control laboratory at its food park in Calicut.

The incubation centre is being set up by the Agency for Development of Food Processing Industries, an arm of Kinfra. The incubation centre and the laboratory are expected to become operational by the end of this calendar year.

In a press release, G C Gopala Pillai, managing director of Kinfra, said the centre would be set up with technical support from the Defence Food Research Laboratory, while the quality control laboratory would enjoy technical support from the Central Food and Technical Research Institute. The two units would come up during the park's second phase of development.

The park, which has come up in a 100-acre plot, has seen 16 companies book space, of which four have started operations. according to S Ramnath , general manager of Kinfra. The 16 companies are expected to invest about Rs 24 crore in the park.

Among the major companies that have begun operations in the food park are the Rs 500 crore Parison group which is into edible oil refining and the Thrissur-based Rime Rich Foods which is into ice-cream production.

Foster Foods, Merry Times Foods, and Falcon Foods have also been allotted industrial plots. According to the release, a few more ice-cream companies have booked space and would soon start operations.

Kinfra is also developing a third food processing park at Adoor in Pathanamthitta district. A park for specialised infrastructure for food processing is also in the implementation stage at Kalpetta in Wayanad district, the Kinfra release said.

The thrust areas for food parks, as envisaged by Kinfra, are spice extracts, curry powder, natural colours and flavours, meat processing, malted food, high fructose syrup from cassava, ready-to-eat snacks, pineapple and mango products, canned/dried fruits and vegetables and dairy products.

The incubation centre is expected to provide support to companies that have set up shop in the park and would also house a food technology centre and a food biotechnology centre.

These would be equipped with pilot production facilities like fermenters, canning and bottling line, and aseptic processing plant to support the food industry.

Kinfra has also finished the construction of 33/11 kv substations and the internal power distribution (phase 1) work and handed over these facilities to the Kerala State Electricity Board.