Flipkart plans logistics hub in Haringhata industry park

Kolkata: E-commerce giant Flipkart will set up a logistics hub at Haringhata Industrial Park in Nadia that will generate 18,310 direct job opportunities.

The in-principal approval to allot land to Instakart Private Limited, which is a subsidiary of Flipkart, has been given in Wednesday's board meeting of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC).

Amit Mitra, the state Industry minister, said: "This is good news for the people of Bengal ahead of Durga Puja, as setting up of the logistics hub will generate 18,370 direct jobs."

The project will be set up on 100 acres of land in the 358-acre Haringhata Industrial Park, which will be the biggest in the country.

There will be an investment of Rs 991 crore to set up the logistics hub.

Mitra said: "Flipkart will be an anchor investor in Haringhata Industrial Park. With setting up its logistics hub, more industries will be coming up in the remaining part of the industrial park."

He further said that he had discussed the matter with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday. "After the in-principal approval given in this connection in the board meeting of WBIDC, it will be sent to the Standing Committee of the Cabinet on Industry, Infrastructure and Employment, where it will be formalised."

He further said that the discussion over setting up of the logistic hub had been going on for the past seven to eight months. Finally, Flipkart has decided to use the land at Haringhata Industrial Park that is close to National Highway 34, with a frontage area of around 912 metres. It will ensure a smooth operation of vehicles in the logistics hub. Mitra said the logistics hub would be set to serve the North East, Bhutan and even Bangladesh. The land will cost Rs 63.49 lakh per acre.

The process of giving the land will be completed as early as possible and the work to set up the logistics hub is expected to start in the next six months.

In connection with setting up of the second unit of the Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) manufacturing plant of The Chatterjee Group at Haldia, Mitra said the expansion would ensure the creation of jobs downstream, as there will be the possibility of setting up units for continuous polymerisation and fibre will be produced. It will help in setting up spinning mills.