Fashion Technology Park to come up

PUNJAB CM LAYS FOUNDATION STONE OF FTP AND NIIFT
Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh today envisioned Mohali as the hub of an industrial revolution in the Northern India in the near future because most of the enterprising industrial houses from the country and abroad were now looking Mohali as their most favorite destination due to the congenial investment climate coupled with investor-friendly policies.

Addressing a selective gathering after lying the foundation stone of India's first ever Rs.260 crore Fashion Technology Park (FTP) spread over 14 acres with the total construction 11.5 lakh sq. ft. area under the mega project here at Sector 90 first of its kind, state-of-the-art fashion hub, Capt. Singh said that he was confident that this FTP in consonance with rapidly expanding global fashion market would go a long way in the revival and preservation of the decaying art and craftsmanship i.e. Phulkari for which Punjab had enjoyed supremacy world over from the time immemorial. He said that the FTP would be instrumental in blending the traditional craftsmanship with modernized art thereby redefining the concept of fashion designing.

Referring to the industrial development in the state, Capt. Singh said that 180 mega projects worth Rs.60000 crore had been approved by the empowered committee under his chairmanship and were under the various stages of implementation. He said that initially these projects would generate employment potential for 12 to 13000 persons that were likely to touch 20000 with the growth of ancillary units. "Industrialization is the only answer to develop Punjab in the mode of fast track development as the traditional agriculture has attained a stage of saturation and is not remunerative anymore, therefore, Punjab is left with no other option either to go for industrialization or diversification in agriculture to stabilize its economy", said Capt. Singh.

On the occasion, Capt. Singh also launched the web site www.fashiontechnologypark.com to apprise the fashion designers and others engaged in this profession to give them first hand information about the facilities and services rendered by FTP.

Earlier, Mr.Jagjit Singh Kochar, Chief Executive Officer of FTP in his address said that the FTP was developing three vital nodes of the value chain, namely design, production and marketing. Efforts were focused at facilitating interactions and interventions of national and international designers, manufacturers, both small and medium enterprises as well as the a grass root levels, immense talent available within our country was still largely hidden and FTP was committed to bring it to the fore internationally.

Earlier, Capt. Singh also laid the foundation stone of Northern India Institute of fashion Technology (NIIFT) to be constructed over 4.75 acre land here at Industrial Area. The approximate cost of the building was Rs.7 crore out of which Rs.5 crore had been released by the Punjab Government in March 2006. NIIFT was one of the premier institutes of fashion technology created as centres of excellence for higher training, research and development in the field of fashion, management and technology. It was established in 1995 by the Department of Industry & Commerce, Government of Punjab in collaboration with National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi.
Later addressing the media persons, Capt. Singh said that as many as 52 eminent companies in the field of Information Technology from India as well abroad has evinced keen interest to set up their industrial units in Moahli. Citing the example of Wipro, Capt. Singh said that there was some delay in the allotment of the land to Wipro due to the pending PIL in the Court which had been now disposed off and Government would soon allot the requisite land to the Wipro to set up their unit. He said that Satyam and Clariant would also soon join the bandwagon as they had already decided to make hefty investments in the IT sector.
Replying to another question on the sanction of environmental clearances to the mega projects, Capt. Singh said that he had already written to Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and Union Minister of Forests & Environment A.Raja separately to allow the State Government with the practice of issuing provisional NOCs for all projects of Rs.50 crore and more but also enhance the limit of Rs.50 crore to atleast Rs.250 crore.

Prominent amongst others who were present on the occasion included Parliamentary Secretary Industries Rana K.P.Singh, MLA Kharar Bir Devinder Singh, Principal Secretary Industries S.C.Aggarwal, Deputy Commission Tejbir Singh and Director Industries Sanjay Kumar, Director NIIFT Mrs.Vijay Sharma.