Bihta to have a new industrial park

PATNA: The glimmer of hope for a bright industrial scenario, including joint production of sugar and ethanol, has begun to appear on the largely agrarian landscape of the state that was bereft of operational sugar mills.

The most ambitious and innovative and one of its kind in Bihar is Logistic and Industrial Park (LIP) that is slated to come up at Bihta (Patna) at the place where its sugar mill, closed for decades, existed. Earlier, deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi had given an indication of this saying the government had decided to give the Bihta sugar mill to a bidder.

The LIP is to come up at Bihta,” said a source in the industries department, adding: “The bid money has been paid. The formal agreement is to be signed sometime this month or early next month. It is the industrial and marketing unit of its own kind in the state.”

As an integrated unit, LIP plan envisages establishment of a cluster of smallscale industries, marketing of agriculture produce, transportation of produce, establishment of cold chain and utilization of the freight corridor of the railways for the transportation and supply of perishable items for marketing in keeping with their demand in other states and metros. “The cost of the total LIP project is around Rs 200 crore,” the industries department source said.

it has been learnt that the government decided to go for the LIP project at the 23 acre Bihta sugar mill site, since it was felt that the available site of the sugar mill there would not be sufficient to facilitate joint production of both sugar and ethanol.

Earlier, beginning 2006 investors had expressed their interest for the “stand-alone production” of ethanol at the plants where the closed sugar mills of the state existed, but the Centre did not give permission for “stand-alone production” of ethanol in the state and. accordingly, it brought in its Cane Control Order, 2007. Given the circumstances, investors showed interest in combined production of sugar and ethanol.

Consequently, the site of the closed Bihta sugar mill was found to be insufficient for this. “As a result, the government decided to go for an alternative and gave green signal for the LIP project when the bid was made,” the industries department source said.