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Mega industrial estates may help solve problems of chem industry

Agencies - New Delhi

The government has said mega industrial estates could be an answer to the constraints like high cost of capital, expensive and unreliable power supply and inadequate material handling facilities at ports faced by the chemicals industry.

The chemicals minister Mr S S Dhindsa said developing mega chemical industrial estates with modern integrated infrastructural facilities will impart positive impulses for boosting production and export earnings of the sector. He said cost of utilities including power, water and steam, amongst others, which constitutes anywhere between 15 to 50 per cent of the cost of production in the chemicals industry is much higher in India as compared to China, South Korea, Japan and Singapore.

Addressing the meeting of the consultative committee attached to the chemicals ministry, he said, to address the problem, specialised industrial estates dedicated to the chemical industry, will have to be set up where all the requisite facilities are available. He lamented that at present in India chemical industrial units were spread all over the country with each unit having to create the required facilities individually.

He pointed out that if the related industries are set up in close proximity to an industrial estate it would be possible to achieve vertical integration resulting in saving on the transfer cost of feedstock and finished goods. This, coupled with lower investment on infrastructure as a result of sharing will substantially enhance the cost competitiveness in the world market, he added.