No yarning gap: apparel, textile SEZ for city

No yarning gap: apparel, textile SEZ for city
To Be Ready In Two Years Jobs For 50,000 Workers
The Times of India

Bangalore: Bangalore’s position as one of India’s biggest apparel and textile hubs just got a further boost. The Karnataka government’s high level clearance committee has approved an exclusive SEZ (special economic zone) for apparel and textile to be set up on the Kanakapura Road (6 km before Harohalli) with an investment of Rs 1,250 crore.

The 400-acre SEZ, the first in Karnataka for this industry, is expected to house 50 factories with a total employment of 50,000 workers. It is being promoted by Gokaldas Exports, India’s biggest garment exporter, who will spend Rs 100 crore to acquire the land and set up the basic infrastructure. The remaining investment amount will come from other companies that set up factories in the SEZ.

Gokaldas Exports director Rajendra Hinduja said the SEZ will be ready in two years. The SEZ will consist of spinning, weaving, dyeing and garmenting units, as also accessories’ manufacturers to supply all textile-related requirements such as threads, buttons, fasteners, labels and corrugated boxes.

The park will have a customs office, banks, effluent treatment plant, dispensaries, shopping area, restaurants, container freight station and truck yard. It will have an independent apparel training centre, and also a laboratory for testing of fabrics and raw materials.

The state government has also been promoting an apparel park in Doddaballapur. The SEZ status for the Kanakapura park means that customs duties and other taxes will be waived for all inputs being used in the park to manufacture products for export. Such waivers make products from SEZs more competitive in global markets.

Weaving dreams
Total export revenue expected from SEZ is about Rs 2,500 crore.
Bangalore currently exports about Rs 5,000 cr worth of apparel.
City has some 3.5 lakh workers in apparel sector.
Another 20,000 in textiles.