The Hindu : Front Page : Concept of textile park picking up

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 11, 2005

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Front Page

Concept of textile park picking up

By M. Soundariya Preetha

COIMBATORE: Textile processing, considered one of the weak links in the textile value-addition chain, is mostly in the unorganised sector in the country. However, with changing market scenario, the concept of processing park (with modern facilities) seems to be picking up at least among the units in this region.

For instance, just 300 acres of the total area earmarked for textile processors, are yet to be sold at the SIPCOT Industrial Growth Centre, Perundurai. Seven large-scale processing houses have already contracted space at the processing park proposed in Cuddalore by the Southern India Mills' Association.

Availability of adequate water suitable to treat fabric and waste management are two major issues the processors have to deal with, says SIMA chairman, Vijay Venkataswamy.

They employ better technology and use less-polluting dyes and chemicals to improve processing quality to meet market demands. Thus, the units have to adopt expensive methods and hence prefer common facilities, he says. For instance, the Cuddalore project envisages marine disposal technology, which is a "proven technology" and "also economical."

With overwhelming response, the association plans to have nearly 300 acres allotted for small and medium scale units also. It plans to have units in over 1,000 acres to be completed in three or four phases.

At the SIPCOT Industrial Growth Centre, Perundurai, land has been allotted to 68 units so far and 13 of them jointly have a common effluent treatment plant. Of the rest, 22 have been commissioned and the rest are expected to become operational in another six months.

Its Project Officer, A. Palaniappan, says that since its commissioning in 2000, 75 per cent of its land earmarked for processing units has been booked and "there are a lot of enquiries now from units in Tirupur and Coimbatore for area at the centre."

State-of-art technology

Land was allotted only to those units that agreed to install a reverse osmosis plant and availability of water was the main criteria encouraging units to set up facilities at the centre, he said.

The need of the hour is many more such projects, as the garment buyer wants a vertically integrated unit where every facility is available in-house. A group of small units coming together is beneficial as the buyer can source bulk needs from one place, Mr. Venkataswamy says.

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