Government to fund plastic parks project in India

The Government of India (GoI) will provide funding for setting up plastic parks, being planned for the promotion of downstream plastic processing industries, according to the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. The scheme, to be implemented by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, envisages setting up of a ‘Special Purpose Vehicle’ (SPV), which would provide infrastructure and common facilities for the industries. State Government or its agency, which would set up such SPV, will have to mandatorily have equity participation in it. “Share subscription agreements between the SPV and its members will have to be executed. The contribution of the members will have to be at least 20% of the total equity, including the cost of the land,” the Ministry said in a press release.
 
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GoI would provide a grant-in-aid to the extent of 50% of the project cost, not exceeding Rs 40 crore per SPV to be set up for the purpose. “The remaining contribution in the SPV will be from the State Government, its agencies, beneficiary industries or loan from financial institutions. The release of funds will be based on identification of milestones and time limits set for each such milestone to be decided at the time of the project approval by a Scheme Steering Committee (SSC) in the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals. The proposals are to be made by the State Governments,” said the release.
 
According to a report in Business Standard, India will have four plastic parks – at Paradeep (Orissa), Manali Industrial Estate (Tamil Nadu), Tinsukhia (Assam) and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) - approved by end of October 2013, making them the first set of plastic parks to come up after the government launched the National Plastic Park Policy in 2010 and modified it in 2013.
 
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With the plastic parks scheme, the Ministry is aiming to increase investment in the sector for additions in capacity and for increased exports in the sector. Adopting a clustered development approach, the scheme aims to achieve environmentally sustainable growth through innovative methods of waste management, recycling etc.