Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry seeks Rs 400 crore for textile hub in Gujarat

The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) proposes to set up a Rs 800 crore state-of-the art textile processing cluster housing about 100 dyeing and printing mills in Surat district and has approached the central government for 50 % funding.

Even as the proposal for land allotment for the ambitious project on 50 lakh square metre land in Pinjrat village project is pending with the state government, SGCCI office bearers submitted a letter to visiting Textile Commissioner Dr Kavita Gupta seeking Rs 400 crore grant for developing the cluster.

The total project cost for the cluster is pegged at Rs 800 crore. The SGCCI is eyeing 50 per cent grant from the central government and 25 per cent each from the state government and the industry, according to a newspaper report.

"This is going to be an ambitious project to boost the manufacturing capacity and quality of textile processing sector in Surat. At present, only eight to 10 textile processing units manufacture finished fabrics as per the requirement of the garment sector, while the rest lack the technical know-how. We want to set up a processing cluster having big units with hi-tech technology and upgradation," SGCCI president B S Agarwal told the Times of India.

Emphasizing on environmental friendly features of the proposed cluster, Mr Agarwal, said the textile processing units will be connected with a common boiler system to discourage the use of chimneys. There will also be a set-up for wind and solar power generation, common drainage, CETP plant, tertiary treatment plant and other state-of-the-art facilities.

It's not just the processing and weaving units, but also garment units that were proposed to be included in the Pinjrat cluster, Mr Agarwal said adding that they were planning to visit the textile cluster in Trichy for tips and looking for investors in the project.