Southern States - Kerala   

President to dedicate Kinfra park to the nation

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Sept. 23. The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, will dedicate a food processing industrial park developed by the Kerala State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) at Kakkancherry, in Malappuram district, to the nation on Thursday.

At a press conference here today, the Industries Minister, P. K. Kunhalikutty, said the park, developed on 60 acres of land at a cost of Rs. 20 crores, already had three food processing units functioning there. Eleven more entrepreneurs had lined up to set up their units there.

The park would have sufficient space to accommodate between 30 to 40 units, he added. Among the other dignitaries attending the President's function at the park were the Chief Minister, A. K. Antony, and the Union Minister of State for Food Processing, N. T. Shanmugham.

The work on this food-processing park was begun in 1996 on the land released by the Calicut University from its sprawling campus. Mr. Kunhalikutty said the location of the park would ensure the university's research support to the units coming up there.

He said the Kinfra had plans to acquire 100 acres more for the food-processing park. An IT park too was proposed to be set up close to the university, he added.

A unique feature of the food-processing park would be an `incubation centre' being set up there. There would be experts at this centre to provide guidance to anyone approaching it with an entrepreneurial idea. The centre would also have all processing facilities to put the idea into practice and examine its marketability.

``A new entrepreneur can thus assess the risk factors in advance before launching his or her scheme on a commercial basis,'' he said.

Mr. Kunhalikutty said the Government perceived food processing as an industry with tremendous potential in the State, capable of generating plenty of job opportunities and spurring economic activity.

Kerala had several ethnic delicacies, which had good export potential. Already, several entrepreneurs, who had identified the scope of this sector, were into the business of exporting such products, he said.

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