Tea Board plans Jebel Ali-style integrated park near Dhamra port

It will be an EOU, set on a minimum area of 500,000 sq ft

Tea Board India might set up an ‘integrated tea park’ close to the Dhamra port in north Odisha. This is proposed as an export-oriented unit, with facilities for warehousing, packaging, blending, testing and allied activities.

The Board was keen to locate this in the eastern region and has found Dhamra an appropriate site. A letter asking for the land “on or near the port” has been sent by Priyanka Basu Ingty, secretary, Tea Board, to L N Gupta, principal secretary of the Odisha government for small and medium enterprises.

The proposed park is to be modelled on the DMCC Tea Centre at the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai. 

The aim is to promote India as an investment destination and manufacturing hub for tea, attracting global brands here and meeting their warehousing, blending, packaging and labelling requirements. The minimum area needed for the tea park is 0.5 million sq ft.

“We have received proposals from the Government of India for development of a tea park in Dhamra and a spices park in Berhampur. Only rudimentary discussions have been held. With the setting up of the park, the packaged tea will be exported from the state. About 50 acres will be required for establishing such a park,” said a state government official.

Tea Board officials decided there were advantages in siting at Dhamra. The port has three operational jetties, with plans for expansion to 11. Container services are expected to take off there in another six to 12 months. The port is connected to the nearest railway station at Bhadrak by a dedicated 65-km freight line. A four-lane highway connecting the port with National Highway-6 is expected to be completed within a year.

There are also possibilities of developing dedicated warehousing for tea, with possible expansion to a blending and packaging unit at the designated Customs notified area within the port. Additionally, container shipment from Dhamra would cut the transit time to Europe by almost 20 days, as there will be no need for connecting with mother vessels at Colombo or Singapore, thus offsetting the cost of transport from Kolkata or Siliguri to Dhamra. 

Officials at Dhamra Port Company declined to comment on the tea park proposal.

A full-fledged tea blending and packaging unit, in semi-automated mode, has the potential for employing 400 persons directly. Indirect employment could go up to 1,000. 

India is the world's second largest tea producer, after China, accounting for 23 per cent. Exports from this country have 11 per cent share in global shipments. Integrated infrastructure in the form of tea parks can help tap the under-utilised value added segment. Export of value added products like packet tea, tea bags and instant tea constitute only 13 per cent of overall exports but have a revenue share of 23 per cent.  

ROAD TO A TEA HUB

• Park is proposed as an export-oriented unit, with facilities for warehousing, packaging, blending, testing and allied activities 
• Proposed park is to be modelled on the DMCC Tea Centre at the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai
• Aim is to promote India as an investment destination and manufacturing hub for tea, attracting global brands to India and meeting their warehousing, blending, packaging and labelling requirements
• The Board was keen to locate this in the eastern region and has found Dhamra an appropriate site 
• Minimum area needed for the park is 0.5 million sq ft 
• Port has three operational jetties, with plans for expansion to 11 
• Container services are expected to take off there in another six to 12 months 
• Container shipment from Dhamra would cut the transit time to Europe by almost 20 days