Infant garments maker Kitex of Kerala has decided to ramp up its investment in Telangana, where it is setting up two manufacturing facilities, from ₹2,400 crore to ₹3,000 crore.
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Managing director of Kitex Garments Sabu M Jacob, who, accusing Kerala government of targeting his firm, had earlier announced that it would it not be investing any more in the State, said the decision on the additional investment commitment was taken, considering the favourable atmosphere and support provided by the Telangana government. “Today morning, I committed to him ₹3,000 crore investment,” he said, referring to his meeting with Industries and IT Minister K. T. Rama Rao here on Tuesday.
Kitex would create jobs for 28,000 people in Telangana, with 80% of them women, he said.
Mr. Jacob, speaking at a CII Telangana event in which the Minister was chief guest, recalled that Mr. Rao had dispatched a private jet in 2021 to ferry him and his team from Kerala to Hyderabad when Kitex was evaluating various States. The company subsequently decided to invest ₹1,000 crore to set up a manufacturing facility in Kakatiya Mega Textile Park, Warangal. It announced a similar investment for another unit in Sitarampur, near Hyderabad.
“At the time of agreement [with the State government], total investment committed was [enhanced to] ₹2,400 crore,” he said, adding the additional ₹600 crore will go into making infant socks. While the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park unit was expected to be ready by July, the Sitarampur facility was likely to take one more year. Over next 2-3 years, Kitex would be making 2.5 million infant garment pieces a day in Telangana, he said, adding that many investors from Kerala, including non-resident Keralites, were likely to invest in Telangana.