Four new clusters with plug-and-play model factories for leather products manufacturing will be set up in Tamil Nadu, according to the Council for Leather Exports (CLE), whose executive director R Selvam recently said the council has requested the state to allocate land for the purpose. CLE expects a lot of foreign direct investment (FDI) to come to Tamil Nadu.
At a press conference organised by CLE in Chennai to apprise newspersons of the latest issues and developments in the leather industry, Selvam said Katpadi in Vellore district; Bargur in Krishnagiri; Tindivanam in Villupuram district; and Irungattukottai near Chennai are the four places identified for the proposed factories.
Under the plug-and-play model, the state government offers land, road-connectivity, drainage and electricity connection to the industry. The new factories will be strictly manufacture products like shoes, handbags and wallets.
“Make in India, Invest India, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and CLE have together marked six countries to bring investments. We have visited Taiwan and the remaining countries will follow,” said CLE chairman PR Aqueel Ahmed.
The new factories that will come up at the four clusters will bring an investment of about $50-100 million and provide 100,000 jobs of which 85 per cent will be for women, he added.
The event also highlighted the 35th edition of India International Leather Fair (IILF) to be held in Chennai between January 31 and February 3. The four-day event will see around 15,000 participants from 40 countries.
