FAPI proposes jute park in Vizag

The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Industries (FAPI) has approached the state government with a proposal to set up a jute park in Visakhapatnam district.

The proposed jute park would attract an investment of about Rs 500 crore and provide employment to about 20,000 people, BV Rama Rao, president, FAPI, and managing director, Swarnandhra Jute Mill, said.

Currently, Andhra Pradesh has 27 jute mills (both composite jute and jute twine mills) with a combined production capacity of 825 tonnes per day. Of this, 23 mills are located in north coastal Andhra Pradesh.

"Plenty of raw material is available in Andhra Pradesh and nearby West Bengal. If we can concentrate on jute industry not only will it provide employment to a large number of rural people but will also generate a lot of foreign exchange," he said.

FAPI has sought 150 acres of land for the jute park from the government. Th proposed park, he said, would accommodate 10 large and medium scale jute units, 20 small scale units and 60 tiny units. Once the units go onstream, they would generate a turnover of about Rs 800 crore over the next four-five years including about Rs 150 crore exports, he added.