Nearly 15 years from its conception and 9 years after the foundation stone was laid, the Mysuru Export Centre is still a project in making.
The foundation stone was laid in 2014 when the Congress had formed the government with Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister, and the clock has come a full circle since then, but the project is nowhere near completion.
Hence, stakeholders from the industries in Mysuru met the Additional Chief Secretary Selvakumar in Bengaluru on Wednesday, July 26, and apprised him of the imperatives of completing the project at the earliest.
Though the work on the building commenced in 2019 and was scheduled for completion in 2021, the contractor abandoned the works midway and the project came to a grinding halt.
Mr. Vasu, former MLA and president of Mysuru Industries Association apprised Mr. Selvakumar of the project and said that the State government has contributed ₹1 crore, the Central funding was to the tune of ₹3 crore while ₹50 lakh was deposited from the stakeholders in 2018.
The Centre was mooted so as to boost exports from Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru districts and was to function under Visvesvaraya Trade Promotion Centre.
The Union Government funded the project under the Assistance to States for Developing Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities (ASIDE) but in view of the inordinate delay in the completion of the works, the Government of India is seeking the return of the balance of amount or the unspent portion, according to Suresh Kumar Jain, Secretary of MIA. Hence, a delegation of stakeholders met the authorities in Bengaluru pressing for early completion of the project, he added.
The local industrialists aver the Centre would give a fillip to industrial exports from Mysuru as it will function as a single-window agency and cut the bureaucratic delay and hassles by providing all facilities under one roof.
Export centre
Among the various objectives of the Export Centre is to act as information dissemination centre for all stakeholders and create space for capacity building programmes on export-related issues.
The export centre also envisages creating material and product testing facility in Mysuru in the absence of which the turn-around time for product manufacturing companies gets extended and make them less competitive.
Mr. Jain said with the number of export-oriented units on the rise in Mysuru region, the Export Centre would not only benefit local industries but also from the neighbouring districts.
The concept also envisages creating an information desk to provide details on foreign trade policies, programmes and schemes for exports that can help the stakeholders. Apart from giving a boost to local industries and export, it would also give a fillip to products for which Mysuru is known, such as handicrafts, Mysuru silk, agarbatties etc besides auto components, medical equipment, textiles, electronics etc for which Mysuru has carved a niche for itself through ancillary units, according to the stakeholders.
