Orient Craft to develop textile SEZ in Gurgaon

New Delhi: Garment exporter Orient Craft Ltd (OCL) plans to develop a 750-acre textile SEZ in Gurgaon with an investment of Rs 2,000 crore. 'We have acquired 460 acres of land for the purpose and will expand it to 750 acres. The first phase of the SEZ consisting of 284 acres will be completed by the end of next year with an investment of Rs 500 crore,' said OCL Managing Director, Mr Sudhir Dhingra.

He said that the `boutique SEZ' will house specialty players of the textile industry and is expected to provide employment to about 30,000 people.

The other two phases are proposed to be completed by 2010 end and will also house some power companies and hotels. 'Part of the rest of the investment of Rs 1,500 crore will come from these hotels and other companies,' said Mr Dhingra.

He also said that the company will enter the capital markets in the first half of next year and will raise Rs 250-350 crore. 'We are looking at divesting 25 per cent of our stake with the IPO,' he added.

At a conference on Thursday , the company announced its partnership with Europe's s.Oliver, a retailer of garments and lifestyle products. The partnership entails setting up of retails stores in metros and other major cities in the next five years. ``In the first phase, we will invest about Rs 12 crore for setting up two stores in the Delhi-NCR by March next year and 10 more stores over the next two years,'' said Mr Dhingra. OCL's turnover last fiscal stood at Rs 740 crore and it is targeting total sales of Rs 800 crore thiscurrent fiscal.