Vijay C Roy
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 25
At a time when the Punjab government is contemplating to set up industrial parks to tide over scarcity of industrial land, a collective effort of 30 industrialists in the state has set an unprecedented example by acquiring 60 acres on their own for setting up a plywood park at Hoshiarpur. The park will house wood-based industry and is likely to attract an investment of Rs 70-Rs 80 crore.
There would be 30 units in the proposed park. Since it was a collective effort, the industry incorporated a company called “Hoshiarpur Wood Park (P) Ltd” for the purpose of acquisition of land which cost them between Rs 8 and Rs 10 lakh per acre.
Entrepreneurs in the state have long been demanding the successive state government suitable industrial plots at competitive rates for expansion of their businesses. However, Hoshiarpur-based industry has taken a lead by going for land acquisition on its own. The proposed park will have units comprising ply board factories, pilling factories, saw mills and chippers.
“The investment will be by our member industry spread across the state which pooled for the acquisition of land. The proposed park will not only help in future expansion of the industry but would also help farmers in getting better realisation of their produce as the state timber will be utilised within the state,” said Naresh Tiwari, chairman, All India Plywood Manufacturing Association.
A cluster of villages in Hoshiarpur is the hub of production of social forestry species such as poplar and eucalyptus. So, it makes a sense to have wood-based industry as it will have an easy access to raw material and moreover it can be consumed locally. Around 90% of wood for plywood manufacturing comes from poplar and eucalyptus trees.
Currently, there are over 100 wood-based units in Hoshiarpur with a majority of them in micro, small and medium category. The average turnover of these units is around Rs 1,000 crore.
Industry representatives said currently timber from the state is sent to Yamunanagar and Delhi as influx of wood-based industry is more there than in Punjab.
According to sources, every day around 1,000-1,100 tractor-trolleys loaded with poplar and eucalyptus reach the wood markets of Yamunanagar from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh with Punjab having a significant share.
Having acquired the land, the industry has approached the state government for their assistance in getting funds from the Centre under cluster development programme. “We have approached the state government for the creation of common infrastructure such as road, power infrastructure, sewage treatment plant and common facility centre. We are ready to pool our share in the Centre’s Cluster Development Scheme if state manages to get a cluster for wood-based industry in Hoshiarpur,” said Tiwari.
Punjab and Haryana are the biggest producers of plywood in the country with almost 60% combined share.
Proposed park
- Total area: 60 acres
- Investment expected: Rs 70-80 crore
- Type of industry: Ply board, pilling, saw mills, chippers
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