The Textile Centre at Nadukani near Taliparamba scheduled to be inaugurated by Minister of State for Textiles Panabaaka Lakshmi on April 16 is all set to make the area a hub of textile manufacturing activities in the district as the common facilities such as effluent treatment plant, dyeing plant and hazardous waste disposal arrangements are all set to attract a number of textile manufacturers in the private and co-operative sector.
The Textile Centre promoted by the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) under the Central government's Textile Centre Infrastructure Development Scheme (TCIDS) has a wet processing facility that can process 15 tonnes of yarn and 70,000 metres of fabric a day and an effluent treatment plant that can treat 750 cubic metres of effluents a day is all set to give a fillip to the industrial development in the area.
One of the 17 projects under the TCIDS in the country and the fourth project being inaugurated, the Textile Centre has been developed at an estimated cost of Rs. 45 crore including Rs. 25 crore as Central grant. The State government has shouldered Rs. 20 crore including Rs. 3.75 crore for land.
Spread over 50.18 hectatre of land at Nadukani, the Textile Centre is equipped with infrastructure facilities including roads, electrical lines, water supply and water treatment plant. In addition to the common effluent treatment plant and dyeing centre, the centre has a weaving centre, standard design factory, an integrated infrastructure development centre, facilities for container movement, quality power, among others.
Kinfra has set up a unit with machinery that can process three tonne yarn a day. The dyeing plant has the capacity to process 1500 tonne yarn a day.
Kinfra International Apparel Parks Managing Director J. Krishna Kumar said at a press conference here on Wednesday that the facilities could also be accessed by small and medium weaving units. He also said that Kinfra had received 24 applications for allotment of land at the centre. Fifteen 15 of them had remitted 10 per cent earnest money deposit (EMD), he said adding that six of those entrepreneurs had paid 15 per cent EMD. He said that now 25.49 ha of land remained for transfer to prospective entrepreneurs on lease for 90 years. "We are also planning to purchase 101.17 ha of land in the area for future expansion of the centre.
Envisaged as a textile park, the whole centre is conceived as having six pockets including one for the wet processing which will also include the common effluent treatment plant, dying and winding plant, bonded warehouse, water harvesting pond and hazardous waste treatment plant. An extent of 13.66 ha of land has been reserved for setting up weaving units, while a mini-apparel park spread over 3.92 ha land will house the standard design factor apart from a creche and a dispensary.
Taliparamba MLA C.K.P. Padmanabhan, who is chairman of the organising committee, told the press conference that the Textile Centre was expected to offer direct employment opportunities to nearly 10,000 people when it was full-fledged. The centre was expected to account for substantial volume of the targeted Rs. 1000 crore exports from the district.
He said that Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem would preside over the inaugural function to be held at 4 p.m. on April 16. Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Health Minister P.K. Sreemathi and Devaswom Minister Ramachandran Kadannappally would attend the function.
