Aditya Birla Retail and Fashion Ltd (ABFRL) is establishing a new apparel manufacturing unit in Bhubneshwar as part of the Make in Odisha initiative.

The new garment producing unit will have a capacity of manufacturing about 2.5 million pieces every year. Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha, laid the foundation stone of the unit.

The new unit is the first manufacturing unit of ABFRL outside Bangalore. It will manufacture apparels for the group’s premium brands like Louise Philippe, Allen Solly, Van Huesen and Peter England, according to media reports.

The unit with the capacity of 2.5 million pieces per annum, will generate employment for close to 16,000 people, mostly women, said Ashish Dikshit, business head of ABFRL.

Prassana Patsani, MD of Hindalco Satish Pai, COO of ABFRL R Swaminathan and assistant vice-president of ABFRL Raviee also attended the foundation stone laying ceremony in Bhubaneswar.