Centre clears mega food park at Motipur in Muzaffarpur

PATNA: The Centre has cleared the state government’s bid for the construction of a mega food park on the 78-acre land of Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) at Motipur in Muzaffarpur district with an overall investment of Rs 403 crore.
Union minister for agriculture and farmers’ welfare and food processing Narendra Singh Tomar and state industries minister Shahnawaz Hussain made the joint announcement in this regard in Delhi on Monday, reports said.
As envisaged by the just cleared mega food park project, the Centre and state government together would make initial expenditure of Rs 103 crore. Of the sum, the Centre would provide Rs50 crore as grant for the project.
Tomar said Rs103 crore would be utilized on the construction of the common structure on the land. Following this, investors would pump in Rs300 crore in as many as 30 food processing units to be established there. Together, the two kinds of investments would add up to Rs403 crore, overall.
“The work on the project will begin, soon,” Tomar said, adding that it will create 5,000 work opportunities for the aspirants.
For his part, the state industries minister said BIADA had moved the proposal on the advice of CM Nitish Kumar for wresting the mega food park project for the state. While the Centre had earlier planned for the establishment of 42 mega food park units in the country. Of them, as many as 40 projects had already gone to different states and only two remained to be allotted.
“Of the remaining two mega food park projects, one has finally come to Bihar. It is a big heartening news for the people of the state,” Hussain said and thanked both PM Narendra Modi and CM Nitish Kumar for taking the initiative and interest for the eventual sanction to mega food park for the state at Motipur.