Odisha seafood park gets Rs 466 cr investment proposals

The park will process 90,860 tonnes a year of seafood and is expected to generate 7,214 jobs

The seafood park being developed by Odisha at Deras on the city's outskirts has bagged investment proposals worth Rs 466 crore from 20 companies. The park will process 90,860 tpa of seafood and is expected to generate 7,214 jobs.

Major companies that have already committed investments for setting up units at the seafood park are Falcon Marine Exports, Magnum Seafoods, Utkal Exports and Vizag-based Coastal Corporation. Falcon Marine Exports will set up the largest seafood processing unit with a capacity of 37,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of seafood and provide employment opportunities for 4,060.

Sanjeev Chopra, principal secretary, industries (Odisha) said, "The state government has received [a] very encouraging response in terms of investments for the seafood park. This will increase employment in the state as well as create an ideal ecosystem for the seafood industry to flourish in Odisha. We are confident that the state-of-the-art facility at the park will attract companies across the country."

The seafood park is being developed by the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) at a cost of Rs 134 crore. The land has been alloted to 20 firms on the basis of committed investments.

The park is well-connected to domestic, national and international markets. Spread over 152 acres of land, the project has been approved under the Mega Food Park Scheme of the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries and will comprise of 41 processing units. The project will provide plug and play infrastructure and access to common facilities like devices for cold storage, pre-processing and post-processing facilities, ice plant, packaging, polythene unit and a research & development facility.

According to the state government norms, a financial assistance of up to 20 per cent of the project cost, excluding land cost, subject to limit of Rs 15 crore will be provided to special purpose vehicle (SPV) promoting seafood park. The subsidy can also be provided in the form of equity participation through Idco or Odisha Small Industries Corporation (OSIC).

In 2016-17, India exported 1.13 million tonnes of seafood valued at $5.78 billion with US and South East Asia being the major importers.