Aim at excelling in international markets, CM tells entrepreneurs
Pinarayi Vijayan dedicates Rs 20-crore KINFRA Spices Park near Thodupuzha
Idukki / October 14, 2023
Idukki, Oct 14: Rising demand for value-added products will help Industrial Parks in Kerala grow fast and facilitate the success of small and medium enterprises through stronger competence in the global market, Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan said today.
Entrepreneurs must eye beyond local markets and devise quality-enhancing strategies to ensure international standards for their products and earn consumer trust across continents, he noted after inaugurating the KINFRA Spices Park at Muttom, in Idukki district.
“By using new-age technologies, entrepreneurs must come up with a variety of products. The Spices Park can facilitate processing and value addition of spices and allied products in accordance with modern needs,” Shri Vijayan said at the function chaired by Minister for Industries, Coir and Law Shri P. Rajeeve.
Noting that the functions of the Spices Park can benefit farmers as well, the Chief Minister said the Rs 20-crore facility will thus help revitalise the agriculture sector. “Entrepreneurs must go for value addition of all products possible,” he added, pointing out that Kerala contributed to 75 per cent of the country’s spices exports.
The Spices Park, which has been raised on a 15.29-acre plot by the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA), also marked the realisation of an ambitious endeavour under the MSME Cluster Development Programme of the Union government. Its inauguration comes just six months after KINFRA opened a Mega Food Park at Cherthala for seafood processing and export, and is readying a Coconut Industrial Park at Kuttiyadi in Kozhikode district and Wayanad Coffee Park in Kakkavayal.
Absence of a market chain and inability to find new markets has been a challenge for the food-processing industry in Kerala, Shri Vijayan said. “To overcome this problem, the government will guarantee markets for farm products by facilitating the intervention of the cooperative sector in agriculture marketing,” he pointed out, recalling that the state budget has earmarked Rs 35 crore for this purpose.
Each phase of the distribution channel needs to be paid attention to attract investments. This requires having sufficient cold-storage facilities, quality tests, research and skill development, the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister also exchanged consent letters to launch various industrial endeavours at the Spices Park.
Minister Shri Rajeeve said the second phase of the Spices Park will be completed in nine
months. Authorities have decided to develop a food-processing park at Cheruthoni, 60 km east of here, on a ten-acre plot allotted by the Water Resources Ministry.
The work on KINFRA’s Petrochemical Park at Ambalamugal near Kochi will be completed next year as per schedule. Ahead of its formal launch, certain facilities have become functional at the Park, he noted, adding that five KINFRA Parks feature among the best 12 in south India.
KINFRA mobilised Rs 1,834 crore investments during the present government’s tenure so far, generating 25,601 jobs. Having already sanctioned 11 private industrial parks, the government is aiming to open 30 more this financial year. This will mean 500 acres for industrial parks across the state, Shri Rajeeve added.
Minister for Water Resources Shri Roshy Augustine, who was the Guest of Honour, said the new Park is the latest recognition to Idukki that has the reputation of being the spice district of the state. The government will complete more such endeavours in a time-bound manner, he added.
Principal Secretary (Industries and Norka) Shri Suman Billa, while welcoming the gathering, said that it is significant to note that KINFRA had already developed 80 per cent of the 15.29-acre land at the Park in Thudanganad of Muttom village.
KINFRA Managing Director Shri Santhosh Koshy Thomas proposed thanks at the function,
Those present on the occasion included former Minister Shri M.M. Mani, Devikulam MLA Shri D. Raja, Idukki District Panchayat President Shri K.T. Binu, District Collector Smt Sheeba George, MSME Development Institute (Thrissur) Joint Director Shri G.S. Prakash and KINFRA General Manager (Projects) Dr T. Unnikrishnan, besides representatives of civic bodies from the district.
The Spices Park chiefly features industrial plots with roads, water and power. The basic infrastructure also includes a dedicated feeder from KSEB substation, drains, rainwater harvesting and a security post, besides an effluent treatment plant, administrative block, amenities building and ATM kiosk. The common facilities include telecommunication/ cyber/ documentation centres, a raw-material storehouse, marketing outlets and a cafeteria besides a conference room.
The Park’s development work, which got the Centre’s approval in mid-February 2018, was completed on August 25 this year. KINFRA has already initiated development of the remaining land as a second phase of the Spices Park, where 10 acres of developed land will be allotted to industrial units. KINFRA also proposes to use seven acres of land in the Spices Park for spice cultivation and value addition of spices produce, jointly with the Spices Board’s Park at Puttady near Kumily in Idukki district.
The 1993-founded KINFRA, under the state Department of Industries and Commerce, is an industrial facilitator agency headquartered in the state capital. Kerala opened the country’s first mega food park three years ago, when KINFRA’s Rs 119-crore facility on 80 acres of land was inaugurated at Palakkad in October 2020.
