Hyderabad, July 9 : Kerala-based textiles major Kitex Group on Friday announced that it will invest Rs 1,000 crore to set up its apparel manufacturing unit in the Kakatiya Mega Textiles Park (KMTP) at Warangal in Telangana.
The announcement came after a series of meetings by the company’s top leadership with Telangana Industry Minister K.T.Rama Rao and senior officials.
After alleging that he was “kicked out” of Kerala, garment major Kitex Group Chairman and Managing Director Sabu M.Jacob, along with other company officials, flew in to Hyderabad on Friday in a chartered flight arranged by the Telangana government for a series of meetings with the minister and his team.
KTR, as the minister is popularly known, gave an overview of the progressive investment policies of the state government and also the availability of various resources for textiles industry in Telangana.
The minister explained about the TSIPASS Single Window clearance system, and the other advantages that Telagana offers.
He also stated that the state’s cotton is one of the finest in the world.
The delegation from Kitex gave a presentation on the group’s current activities, and their future expansion plans.
After an initial round of meetings, the Kitex team flew to the KMTP in a helicopter and inspected the premises.The team was impressed with the infrastructure and flew back to Hyderabad.
Later in the evening, Kitex Group delegation met KTR again and announced that they would be investing Rs 1,000 crore in the KMTP.
Jacob stated that they have decided, in principle, to invest Rs 1,000 crore in the KMTP, Warangal.
This is Phase 1 of the investment and will be done in a span of two years.The proposed investment to set up apparel manufacturing facility is expected to generate 4,000 jobs.
KTR welcomed the decision and assured them of all possible cooperation to set up their operations in Telangana.
Principal Secretary, Industries, Jayesh Ranjan, Commissioner of Handlooms and Textiles, Shailaja Ramaiyer, Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd (TSIICL) MD Narsimha Reddy and senior officials from Industries Department also participated in the meetings.
Kitex Group team arrived in Hyderabad for discussions after abandoning a proposed Rs 3,500 crore project in Kerala.
Kitex started looking at Telangana and other states for investment following its standoff with the Kerala government.
The company management alleged that they were treated like criminals by the state government.
Before leaving for Hyderabad, Jacob told reporters at Cochin airport that he was not abandoning Kerala but he was kicked out.He claimed that he received calls from Chief Ministers and Industry Ministers from nine states.
He slammed the Kerala government’s policies saying the state was still 50 years behind
.
