A mega food park located at the Industrial Growth Centre in Pallippuram, near Cherthala, is set to be inaugurated on April 11. The park, which spans 84.05 acres of land, has been constructed by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) at a cost of INR 128.49 crore.
The inaugural ceremony will be attended by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Pashupati Kumar Paras, who will jointly inaugurate the facility at 10.30 a.m.
The project has been funded by the KSIDC/State government, which contributed INR 72.49 crore, as well as a grant-in-aid of INR 50 crore from the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries under the Mega Food Park Scheme. The remaining funding was provided by a bank loan.
A KSIDC official said, “Twelve units have started operations, providing employment to 600 people.”
The project’s first phase, which covers 68 acres of land, has been completed and includes basic infrastructure and state-of-the-art facilities such as cold storage, deep freezer, deboning centre, waste treatment plant, warehouse, and standard design factory common facility centre. The park’s construction has cost INR 100.84 crore so far.
Officials have stated that work on the second phase of the project, which covers 16 acres of land, is currently underway. The primary processing centres located at Thoppumpady, Vypeen, and Munambam will be connected to the park, with two processing centres already under construction at Vypeen and Thoppumpady.
The park is expected to provide a significant boost to the food-processing sector in the state, particularly the seafood processing and marketing sector. Once fully operational, the project is projected to attract an investment of INR 1,000 crore and create approximately 3,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The inauguration ceremony will be presided over by Industries Minister P. Rajeeve. Other officials in attendance will include Agriculture Minister P. Prasad, MP A.M. Ariff, MLA Daleema Jojo, Alappuzha district panchayat president K.G. Rajeshwari, and others.
