CS approves rice mill near Goa's only sugar factory

Goa's only sugar factory, the  Sanjivani Sugar factory which is reeling under losses incurred by the factory over the years is expected to get a parallel establishment in the form of a rice processing mill to cope up with the losses. The proposal was approved last week by the Chief secretary of Goa Mr Hauzel Haukhum in a special  committee meeting chaired by him. A 50% financial assistance for the project is to be granted by the central government while the remaining balance will have to be raised by the factory.

While the factory is awaiting the final sanction of central funds  for the modern mill , the management is not averse to investing the balance 50% with a view to reap in profits by running of the mill. The factory officials have reportedly conducted various studies  and they have ascertained that most of the farmers in Goa are willing to process their paddy at the mill, should it be set up. The factory has in the meanwhile narrowed down on a particular type of mill costing around Rs 1.5 crore.

It is believed that nearly 4000 tonnes of paddy is transported outside Goa for processing and the farmers of these quantities are willing to shift loyalties to the new rice mill when it comes up. There are an estimated 2000 farmers in Goa who have shown their willingness to process the paddy in Goa if such a plant were to come up in the state.

Sugarcane farmers are not expected to be disturbed by the modern rice mill in the factory. There are presently over 1200 farmers who grow sugarcane and provide nearly 50,000 tonnes every season to the factory.The factory needs over two lakh tonnes of sugarcane to be run profitably, but Goa produces only fifty thousand tonnes of sugarcane, which is insufficient. 

Goa EDC plans more growth hubs in Goa's hinterland

The Economic development Corporation (EDC) of Goa has resolved to build three more growth hubs in the state of Goa and has therefore proposed to acquire over 5 lakh square metres of land in three different talukas of Goa which are predominantly the hinterland of the state, namely the talukas of Pernem, Ponda and Quepem, to enable these areas to commercially develop through the growth hubs.

The grand idea is supported by the success that the EDC achieved through the commercial development of around 1.7 lakh sq metres of land at Patto Plaza in Panjim city.

The move is expected to infuse commercial development in these three talukas of Goa to create growth hubs and is expected to fetch investments to the tune of Rs 2000 crore besides creating employment opportunities for Goan youth.

The projection in the draft regional plan 2021 already envisages these talukas as growth hubs and the EDC has confirmed that this acquisition will be in line with the projection in the draft regional plan to have growth hubs or regional centres and the EDC will act as a catalyst towards that growth.

The EDC managing director W V R Murthy said that they would like to create infrastructure in these three places to attract the investments and are planning to target health, education, entertainment and tourism sectors.

EDC has projected a total cost of over Rs 200 crore for the acquisition and development of land in the three talukas.

Five new industrial units smile on Goa

With the Goan industrial environment looking bleak and the spectre of world recession dangling over the state, added to the alarm of the unemployment figures rising steadily, it was welcome news to hear that five new plants are coming up in the state giving some hope to the unemployed Goans as well as to the revenue streams of Goa. The five units are expected to employ around 330 people in the state.

The five industries are expected to be set up in different locations of Goa by entrepreneurs at an investment of Rs 138 crore employing over 330 people. A high powered co-ordination committee chaired by the Chief Minister Mr Digambar Kamat gave the approval for setting up these companies. The committee also gave the green signal to 14 other large industries for expansion, graduation and regularisation at a proposed capital investment of over 725 crore and an employment potential of over 1680 people in Goa.

Among the five approved industries there are two new projects ( M/S OMSO Orient Printing Machine Pvt Ltd and M/s Creative Moulds (INDIA) Pvt Ltd which are expected to be coming up at Harvalem in Bicholim. The two new companies are expected to manufacture printing machines, injection moulds and spares for the same. These companies have a capacity of employing around 23 people

The third industry is to be set up by M/s Teracom Ltd, which would manufacture insulated wire, cable/CDMA/GSM/VRLA batteries at Kundaim Industrial estate and would employ around 55 people.

The fourth industry at Codli village in Sanguem taluka is a beneficiation plant that has an employment potential of around 26 employees and is to be set up by Sesa Goa Ltd.

However the major industry among the five is that of GKB High tech lenses Pvt Ltd in Tivim Industrial estate which has a capacity to employ 223 persons thereby helping Goa's employment needs.

Despite the recession faced in the industry all over the world, this influx of industries into Goa is a welcome sign and would help the state to tide over the unemployment problems currently faced in Goa.