First private sector textile park to come up near Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad-based Pradip Overseas Ltd, an exporter of household linen, will set up the country's first private sector integrated textile park near here with an investment of Rs 1,200 crore over the next five years.

The park, known as 'Greenfield Textile Park' in view of 40 per cent of its total 400 hectares being developed as greenery, when completed, would produce five lakh metres of cloth every day to emerge as the largest entity in the world in this segment, its Chairman, Mr Mukund Karia, and Technical Advisor, Mr J.S. Negi, told a news conference here.

The integrated park would have all the activities related to the home textile starting from spinning, weaving, processing, stitching, packaging and dispatching at one location.

The company, whose last year's turnover of nearly Rs 100 crore is expected to shoot up four times to Rs 400 crore (including exports worth Rs 300 crore) in the current fiscal, would finance its project through 60 per cent debt and 40 per cent equity.

It is planning to mop up 20 per cent of funds (around Rs 200 crore) through a public issue this year, they said.

The company currently has advance export orders worth more than Rs 200 crore for the next financial year.

New spinning mills


Mr Karia said the first phase of the park would come up in a 115-hectare area, in the next one year, with an investment of Rs 360 crore. Initially, two lakh metres of grey cloth expected to be woven. 'Along with weaving, we are strengthening our processing capacity by introducing a new process house for one lakh metres of wider-width cloth per day.'

In the second phase, entailing an investment of Rs 550 crore, weaving and processing would be further strengthened while new spinning mills would be set up in the third phase with an investment of Rs 200 crore.

The company would increase its capacities up to five lakh metres per day by way of a marketing tie-up with known brands in the international and domestic markets. Once fully developed, the park would generate employment avenues for about 20,000 skilled and unskilled workers.

The Government would earn foreign currency to the tune of an estimated Rs 1,500 crore per annum, they added.