In a huge boost to the Indian leather industry, a mega leather park is being proposed for the Vellore district. The Council for Leather Exports (CLE) is in talks with the state government, with a view to them providing a suitable piece of land in the district.
According to the CLE’s proposal, the leather park will come up on 100 acres of land and it will house hundreds of small to medium enterprises related to the leather sector. The park is expected to come up at a cost of nearly £40 million. According to the plans, it will also have laboratory testing and product design centres.
“The park will give a much-needed boost to the leather industry. The state contributes at least 40% of the exports which are made from India in the leather sector and has lot of growth potential,” said Israr Ahmed, regional chairman (South), CLE. “We are chalking out the modalities of the project with the state government and they are showing a very positive response in the matter. The project is likely to start soon,” he added.
CLE officials claimed there are over 700 medium and small enterprises functioning in the state and the sector provides tens of thousands of jobs, at least 80% of which go to women.
“The availability of quality raw materials, skilled labourers and appropriate infrastructure is an added benefit for the state. The Indian leather and footwear industry is growing and we have been able to penetrate new markets like the US, Russia, Japan, Australia and Poland in recent years. The park will help us to increase exports from the country,” said P R Aqeel Ahmed, CLE chairman.
