Karnataka - Bangalore

Mega agricultural complex to come up in Bangalore

BANGALORE: To tap the potential in the horticultural sector and promote agri-business in a big way in Bangalore and its surrounding districts, the State Government has decided to establish a modern agricultural complex with an investment of Rs. 800 crore at Byatarayanapura in the city.

Karnataka, which ranks third in the country in area under horticulture and production of vegetables and fruit, has decided to construct the agricultural complex for vegetables, fruits and allied services on 31 acres at Byatarayanapura, located on the Bangalore-Hyderabad national highway and close to the international airport at Devanahalli. The project would be completed by June 2010, an official of the State Department of Agricultural Marketing told The Hindu.

The Infrastructure Development Corporation of Karnataka has developed the project proposal. The complex will have value addition facilities.To provide additional advantage to exporters, the complex has been strategically planed at Byatarayanapura, 20 km from international airport, the official said.

It would be developed on public-private partnership (PPP) model and would be built under a long term Built Operate Transfer basis. The complex would be leased for a 30-year period for the developer. He would construct a market on 23 acres and the rest of the land would be utilised for non-marketing purposes by the developer. The complex would generate rent of Rs. 1.6 crore a year, the official said.

The department has invited bids from reputed players in the field of construction for the complex. As many as 45 firms had shown interest and already seven firms — GVPR Engineering Limited, Subhas Project, Ramki Infrastructure Limited, Biodiversity Conservation of India Limited, Unitech Limited, India Project Limited, and Pacific Groups — had submitted their proposals to construct the mega complex. E-tendering facility has been followed for submitting applications.

The Government has also planned to establish terminal markets for fruit and vegetables in Mysore, Belgaum, Gulbarga, Bijapur, Hubli and Channapatna by seeking funds under the National Horticulture Mission (NHM). All markets would be established on PPP model. Each market would come up on 100 acres with an investment of Rs. 100 crore. The NHM would provide 25 per cent subsidy to the developer of the market, the official said.

Fruits and vegetables accounted for nearly 40 per cent of total income in the agricultural sector in the State. The value of horticultural produce amounts to Rs. 8,400 crore a year. Horticultural crops are cultivated on 16 lakh hectares, which is increasing by five per cent annually. The annual production is 96 lakh tonnes, with an increase of six per cent a year. Horticulture accounts for 30 per cent of country’s agricultural Gross Domestic Product from 8.5 per cent of the cropped area.

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