The Telangana State Dairy Development Cooperative Federation, reputed for Vijaya brand milk and milk products, has drawn up aggressive plans for expansion of its production plant to cater to the ever increasing demand for its products.
The federation has prepared an action plan for upgrading its plant at Lalapet in the city involving and investment of ₹ 246.5 crore. The investment is aimed at setting up of state-of-the-art processing plant with a capacity of 5 lakh litres a day, expandable to 8 lakh litres a day in the due course. The focus will be on setting up UHT (ultra high temperature) plant with a capacity of 1 lakh litres a day envisaging products with longer shelf life in addition to an ice cream plant of 5,000 litres a day capacity.
To be developed on a 12-acre land in the federation’s 38 acre area in Lalapet, the new plant is expected to be commissioned in two years. The soil testing and other formalities for setting up the new unit had been completed and the federation has proposed the project to National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development for financial assistance through the National Dairy Development Board. Federation managing director G. Srinivas Rao said that of the total investment proposed in the new plant, the federation would contribute ₹26.75 crore and is expecting a grant of ₹75 crore from the State government. The balance ₹144.5 crore would be mobilised as loan from the Nabard.
“Nabard regional office has cleared the proposal and the project is awaiting clearance from the central office. The works will commence immediately after the loan is sanctioned,” Mr. Srinivas Rao told The Hindu .
The existing plant has a capacity of over 4 lakh litres a day and it would continue to function till the new plant is commissioned. “We will salvage whatever possible from the existing machinery so that it can also be used in the new plant for enhancing the processing capacity,” he said. The federation also planned an extensive marketing strategy positioning senior officials to oversee the work so that the product retains its number one status in the coming few months.
e-carts
In addition to ensuring effective marketing, the federation has decided to press into service 200 e-carts, battery operated three wheelers, that will carry Vijaya products to all locations. As many as 100 e-carts are being deployed in the GHMC area and the remaining 100 would be spread out into the districts.
