Ludhiana to have mega apparel park

Manu Sharma / TNN / Jun 12, 2005, 23:58 IST

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CHANDIGARH: The dismantling of the quota regime worldwide has made the textile industry bigger.

CHANDIGARH: The dismantling of the quota regime worldwide has made the textile industry bigger. As it readies itself to face competition, Punjab’s textile industry to grab a major share in the $50 billion global export market will roll out a mega apparel park in Doraha on the GT Road in Ludhiana in a year’s time.
The idea of a 100 per cent export oriented apparel park is to provide a boost to this industry in Ludhiana.India’s textile sector is the country’s second largest industry after agriculture besides the largest foreign export earner, accounting for 35 per cent of the gross export earnings in trade.
A joint venture of Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation Ltd (PSIEC) and Apparel Exporters Association of Ludhiana (APPEAL), the apparel park is expected to generate employment for over 25,000 people apart from adding an additional $500 million to the country’s exports.
Says Sanjeev Gupta, managing director, Punjab Apparel Park Ltd (PAPL), "Ludhiana is the largest producer of threads, yarn and fabrics in the country catering mainly to the domestic market but when it comes to apparel its share is miniscule. Now with the park coming up this industry is poised for a giant leap in apparel as well."

Incidentally, Tirupur in Tamil Nadu exports apparel worth about Rs 2,000 while Ludhiana does only Rs 800 crore. Besides Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai are now emerging as potential apparel hubs.
Ludhiana, which has nearly 10,000 units, including exporters, brand manufacturers and high-volume manufacturers in this industry, has been facing a tough time owing to fragmented operational environment.
The industry has a skill base of over five lakh skilled workers. Owing to the concentration of the industry, Ludhiana was selected as the destination for the park.

The park initially acquired 50 acres and has now added another 32 acres for the proposed 100-acre park. "Acquiring land was the major issue but now we have 82 acres of land and will get the rest in the coming months,"says Gupta.
Already 115 companies have expressed interest in the park including SSI covering knitwear exporters, domestic/international brand manufacturers and subcontractors.
While the infrastructural development would take around a year, the estimated time to establish a factory is one year, which means the apparel park should be fully functional in about two years’ time.
Industry experts feel the park should have come up by now considering the fact that the quota regime has ended and the local industry is facing challenges in the form of global competition.
The park proposes to provide every essential facility for the apparel industry to function including linkage with road, rail and air, apart from a common captive power plant for its occupants. Besides, there would be support facilities like a commercial complex, a business centre, a conference hall and an exhibition centre for buyer-seller meets.