UP's first 'flatted factory complex' to come up in Agra for Rs 125 cr

In a major shift in the manufacturing landscape of Uttar Pradesh, the industrial town of Agra is set get the state’s first flatted factory complex.

Spread over 5 acres, the Rs 125 crore project will comprise 68 industrial units spread across four stories of the proposed complex.

The concept of a flatted factory includes industrial buildings with more than one storey. The buildings are usually subdivided into separately occupied units used for manufacturing, assembly and associated storage.

According to UP Additional Chief Secretary, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Navneet Sehgal, the roadmap of the flatted factory complex at Foundry Nagar, Agra, has been prepared to allow for the setting up of a large number industries within a limited space.

 

“Since the complex will be situated within the city, the goods would be easily supplied to the markets, while providing job opportunities to a large number of people,” he said, adding the project had been prepared after taking feedback from local industrialists and entrepreneurs.

Equipped with modern industrial amenities, the complex will house non-polluting units manufacturing footwear, bicycles, hosiery, handlooms, carpets, leather goods, electric lamps, embroidery, woollen clothes, apart units involved in tea packaging, information technology, light engineering etc.

The complex will be located at a distance of 10 km from the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, thus providing easy connectivity to markets beyond Agra and UP as well. Moreover, the complex will provide ample parking space and conference facilities for the entrepreneurs, exhibition arcade, food court, data centre etc.

Against the backdrop of Covid-19 disruptions, the UP government last month announced its new investment policy to give a fillip to industries.

The new policy is expected to not only boost existing and new industrial projects, but also position UP strategically for prospective global investors planning to shift their manufacturing bases out of China following the outbreak of pandemic and the ongoing US-China trade war.

 

The policy promises to reimburse state goods and services tax (SGST) by 200-300 per cent of the capital investment, subject to a differential ceiling depending upon the geography, made by the industries in the Purvanchal (Eastern UP), Bundelkhand regions and Madhyanchal (Central UP) regions.

In Bundelkhand, 70 per cent of the net SGST reimbursement would be applicable for 15 years subject to 300 per cent of the capital investment. Similarly, 70 per cent of the SGST would be reimbursed to the investor subject to the ceiling of 200 per cent of the capital investment made in Madhyanchal during the policy period.

Following the lockdown, nearly 3.8 million migrant labourers and workers have returned to UP from other states, especially to the Eastern and central UP districts. The new policy is aimed at accelerating industrialisation in these regions, so that the bulk of the migrant workforce can be absorbed in gainful employment locally.