A plan for an industrial park for furniture makers and a host of manufacturers across the broad spectrum of home decor is on the cards in Telangana.

Set to come up on hundreds of acres, the facility is expected to attract investments from domestic, typically small and medium enterprises, as well as foreign firms, especially those from China and South East Asia.

The master plan, like that of many other industrial clusters that are set to take shape over the next couple of years in the State, is likely to be ready by mid-2017. The location will be influenced by its proximity to the proposed dry port, since imports will form a chunk of the raw material. There will also be scope for exports.

For the dry port, a consultancy firm engaged in short-listing locations has suggested Bhongir, Jadcherala, and Zaheerabad.

Though a furniture park or city in all likelihood is how it will be known, the planners are unlikely to allow that to come in the way of marketing the facility to other players in the home decor arena. Ultimately, the idea is to house enterprises making products associated with home embellishments, said Principal Secretary to the Industries Department Arvind Kumar.

Thus, companies into furnishings, decorative tiles, ceramics, electrical goods such as chandeliers, and a range of other products will vie for attention with furniture makers at the park. Since many of the work is labour intensive, the park is expected to play a crucial role in job creation.

From a business perspective, it makes sense to make in India and cater to a growing market than importing furniture, as is the scenario now, from China and Malaysia.

For Telangana, poised to host IKEA’s first store in India — a 400,000 square feet facility in Hyderabad by autumn of 2017 — the furniture city will be an added attraction. Also, the Swedish home furnishings major wants to double sourcing of products from India over four years, from the existing €300 million.

(Source: thehindu.com)