A view of the under construction Kuttanad Rice Park at Mulakuzha, near Chengannur, in Alappuzha.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The construction of the Integrated Rice Technology Park (Kuttanad Rice Park) at Mulakuzha, near Chengannur, in Alappuzha is making slow progress, with less than 50% of the work completed in the past two years.
The 6,582 sq ft facility, being set up by Kerala Rice Ltd, a State government undertaking, on 5.18 acres of land, is intended to produce Kuttanad-brand rice and value-added products. Sources said that shortage of funds had hampered the park’s construction. “The fund crunch has slowed the overall progress of the project. Despite this, 46% of work on the park has been completed so far. We have also placed orders for machinery to be installed in the facility. Our aim is to complete the project by December this year,” said an official.
The park is constructed at a cost of ₹53.34 crore on the land of Prabhuram Mills under the Kerala State Textile Corporation. Once operational, the facility will have the capacity to process 80 tonnes of paddy daily and 24,000 tonnes annually. As part of the project, two flat-bottom silos with a combined capacity of 5,000 tonnes and two hopper-bottom silos with a total capacity of 1,000 tonnes will be built to store procured paddy.
The project is expected to give a major boost to paddy cultivation, procurement and processing in the region. The park will enable the government to procure paddy directly from farmers in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Kollam districts, bypassing private mills, and to market Kuttanad-brand rice after processing.
In addition to rice, the plan is to produce rice flour, rice flakes, and canned food at the facility. The products will be marketed domestically through the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) and Kerala State Cooperatives Consumers’ Federation (Consumerfed). The government has also announced plans to market the Kuttanad-brand rice and other products overseas.
The project is implemented with technical support from the Central Food Technological Research Institute and Defence Food Research Laboratory.
Published – January 20, 2025 07:05 pm IST
