Date:30/06/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/06/30/stories/2005063000310200.htm

Back Fashion city: Singapore team to visit Kochi

Our Bureau

Kochi , June 29

A delegation from Singapore is to visit Kochi to assess the feasibility of setting up a Rs 350-crore Singapore fashion city.

It will undertake the second stage of high-level talks with senior government officials here on Saturday, according to a fax statement.

The team is expected to hold talks with the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, and the Industries Minister, Mr V.K. Ibrahim Kunju. The delegation, comprising the Executive Chairman of the Ghim Li Group, Ms Estina Ang Suan Hong, technical officers and consultants, is expected to arrive in Kochi on Friday.

The project is expected to generate direct employment to 12,000 people and indirect employment to another 6,000.

The delegation has made a request to the Kerala Government for 100 acres of land at Kakkanad for setting up the project. If the talk progresses favourably, it is hopeful of signing a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, the fax said. In the first stage, the project plans to set up 3,200 sewing machines and export 30 million apparels a year.

With the establishment of the fashion city, a host of ancillary units, training centres and fashion-textile technology colleges are expected to come up in the vicinity. The delegation will also assess the feasibility of setting up the project in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Tirupur. The project promoters have a global textile business interest of Rs 1,000 crore in, spanning various countries. The promoters propose to work in close co-ordination with the Kitex group.