Page 61 - Plastics News December 2017

IN THE NEWS

Punjab signs 50 MoUs to boost Karnataka sets the ball rolling

plastic industry on first Plastic Park

iving a fillip to its industrial development agenda, the he process of setting up Karnataka’s first ‘plastic
GPunjab government, earlier this month, has signed Tpark’ in Mangaluru has gained momentum with
50 MoUs, with a total investment of Rs 1200 crore, for the State government identifying 96 acres of land
the upcoming plastic clusters in the state. Chief minister for phase 1 of the project and Mangalore Refinery
Capt Amarinder Singh, in whose presence the MoUs were
signed said the Congress government had already taken
various initiatives, including elimination of truck cartels,
to aid industrial development.
The chief minister released a document titled “Investment
Opportunities in the Plastic Sector”, outlining the
government’s plans to promote investment in the plastic
sector and the fiscal incentives for the MSME Plastic
Processing Units. He said the government was mulling
50 per cent reduction in fixed charges of power for the and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) ready to supply the
raw material. The government is prepared to provide
industry. Singh added that industrial power tariff of Rs 96 acres of Karnataka Industrial Areas Development
5/unit would be effective from November 1, 2017, as Board (KIADB) land at Ganjimutt, off Mangaluru, for
was announced by the state government. Amarinder the park, and 32 entrepreneurs have shown interest
lauded the HMEL’s World Class Cracker and Petrochemical in opening units there, said Gokuldas Nayak, Joint
Complex at Bathinda, which he said would open up vast Director of the Industries and Commerce Department.
opportunities in the plastic processing, plastic machinery, The sole petroleum refinery in the State, MRPL, has
additives and related industries in Punjab. He added that abundant raw material (polypropylene), up to 440,000
the increase in availability of plastic raw materials would tonnes, to set in production, said MRPL managing
director H. Kumar. The department is trying make
the park a cluster so as to get a grant (of about
Rs.40 crore) from the Union government to create
infrastructure, including a common effluent plant,
common testing facility, roads and drainage.
The common infrastructure will enable entrepreneurs
to cut down their costs, Mr. Nayak said. The proposed
park, which could provide employment for over 30,000
people, is also to get a unit of the Central Institute of
Plastic Engineering and Technology to train youngsters
offer immense opportunities of exponential growth to the and test products coming out of the units in the park,
plastic processing industry. The state sought to develop says Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship
plastic industry clusters in Sangrur, Patiala, Bathinda and Skill Development Anantkumar Hegde. The three
and Ludhiana, Singh said. The chief minister assured the primary stakeholders the Union Ministry of Chemicals
plastic industry of full support in getting clearances at the and Fertilizers, the State government, and the
district level by setting up a single-window system at the anchor tenant (MRPL) are already in the picture and
district level under the deputy commissioner. He further the process of forming a special purpose vehicle or
another entity to establish the park is in motion. MRPL
said his government will seek the Centre’s assistance is striving to create the required ecosystem for the
under Plastics Parks Development scheme to develop park by involving the Kanara Chamber of Commerce
infrastructure for the industry. and other bodies, Mr. Kumar said.

61 December 2017 Plastics News