food park

The government is likely to accord special economic zone (SEZ) status to the proposed mega food parks that come up during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12).
Each food park is expected to see substantial investments in cold storage, refrigerated vans, transport services, grading centres, laboratories as well as other supporting services.In a proposal sent to the Planning Commission, the ministry has also said that since food processing units are not typically spread over a large area, the minimum area limit applicable for food SEZs should be relaxed.The ministry of food processing industries has envisaged an initial investment of Rs 120 crore for setting up the common infrastructure in a park. It is of the view that by providing a grant of Rs 1,500 crore for 30 parks, Rs 50 crore for each, the private sector would be encouraged to invest up to Rs 9,000 crore in various parks across the country.Considering the higher risks involved in the food processing sector, the central government will also provide a subsidy of Rs 50 crore per park to private investors. Thus, the total financial outlay proposed for 30 parks, to be spread across 1,50,000 hectares in next five years, would be Rs 1,500 crore. The government has also appointed Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) as a consultant to look into the infrastructure constraints for the project. IL&FS has been given two months to submit its report to the government.