To give a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage and loss at each stage of the supply chain with particular focus on perishables, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has allocated 17 mega food parks to state and private firms with total investment flow of Rs 6000 crore and creating employment for about 80,000 persons.
Out of the 17 parks, six parks are being developed by state agencies such as Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Limited (KSIDC), Alappuzha; Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (Telangana Division), Khammam; Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, Sonipat; Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO), Khurda; Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Ltd., Ludhiana and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC), Krishna and rest by the private firms and each firm investing anywhere in the range of Rs 100- 200 crore.
Sharing this the Food Processing Minister Harismrat Kaur Badal said that a total 42 Mega Food Parks have been sanctioned by the Government for setting-up in the country. Currently, 25 projects are under implementation, Expression of Interest (EoI) was invited on all India basis on February 10, 2014 with the last date of July 31, 2014 to fill up vacancies. Ministry received 72 proposals and after going through a stringent and transparent process of scrutiny, 17 suitable proposals from 11 states of the country have been selected and approved for implementation.
This step of the Government will create huge modern infrastructure for food processing sector and provide impetus to the growth of the sector. These 17 newly selected Mega Food Parks are likely to attract investment of around Rs. 2000 crore in modern infrastructure, additional collective investment of around Rs. 4000 crore in 500 food processing units in the Parks and an annual turn-over of Rs. 8000 crore. These Parks, when fully functional, will create employment for about 80,000 persons and benefit about 5 lakh farmers directly and indirectly.
The government is implementing Food Mega Food Parks Scheme in the country since 2008. Financial Assistance upto Rs 50.00 Crore is provided for setting up Mega Food Parks for creation of modern infrastructure facilities for food processing along the value chain from farm to market.
A Mega Food Park located in the area of a minimum of 50 acres work in a cluster based approach based on a hub and spokes model. Infrastructure is created for primary processing and storage near the farm in the form of Primary Processing Centres (PPCs), Collection Centres (CCs) located in production areas. Common facilities and enabling infrastructure at Central Processing Centre like modern warehousing, cold storage, IQF, sorting, grading, packaging, pulping, ripening chambers and tetra packaging units roads, electricity, water, ETP facilities etc. This helps in reducing the cost of individual units significantly and makes them more viable. Induction of latest technology, quality assurance of processed food products through better process control and meeting of environmental and safety standards are other major benefits of Mega Food Parks.
The timely completion of these Mega Food Park will provide a big boost to the growth of the food processing sector in the concerned state, help in providing better price to farmers, reduce wastage of perishables, add value to the agricultural produce and create huge employment opportunities especially in rural areas. These will also help in stabilizing prices of food products and contain inflation in the country.
| Sr. No | Project Name | District | State | Project Cost (in Rs. crore) |
| Eligible Proposals from the State Government Agencies | ||||
| 1 |
Kerala State Industrial |
Alappzha | Kerala | 125.00 |
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (Telangana Division) |
Khammam | Telangana | 141.03 |
| 3 | Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited |
Sonipat | Haryana | 164.33 |
| 4 | Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) |
Khurda | Odisha | 116.26 |
| 5 | Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Ltd. |
Ludhiyana | Punjab | 136.00 |
| 6 | Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) |
Krishna | Andhra Pradesh | 152.16 |
| Eligible Proposals from Private Sector Agencies | ||||
| 7 | Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd | Kutch | Gujrat | 168.60 |
| 8 | Jain Agro Trading Company Private Limited | Wardha | Maharashtra | 88.73 |
| 9 | Ruchi Acroni Industries Ltd. | Dewas | Madhya Pradesh | 150.37 |
| 10 | 3F Industries Ltd. | Krishnagiri | Tamil Nadu | 127.78 |
| 11 | Raaga Mayuri Agrovet Private Ltd. | Mahboobnagar | Telangana | 112.78 |
| 12 | Continental Warehousing Corporation (NhavaSeva) Limited |
Panipat | Haryana | 157.46 |
| 13 | Mums Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd | Buxar | Bihar | 136.98 |
| 14 | NDR Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. | Thiruvallur | Tamil Nadu | 187.33 |
| 15 | Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) |
Palakkad | Kerala | 121.92 |
| 16 | The Sukjhit Starch & Chemical Ltd. | Kapurthala | Punjab | 128.28 |
| 17 | Vinay Tiwari Agro Estates & Farms Pvt. Ltd. | Ahmednagar | Maharashtra | 119.09 |