Campa Cola bottles seen here
Credit: X/@abhirammodak
The Karnataka government has approved a proposal by Campa Cola of Reliance Group to invest Rs 1,622 crore to set up cold beverages and bottling plants in Vijayapura district.
Sharing details following a crucial meeting on Monday, Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil said, the Campa Cola project will create 1,200 direct jobs. “To facilitate this, the company will be allotted 100 acres of land at Mulawada Industrial Area Phase 2 in Vijayapura district”, he said.
Patil, who chaired a meeting, said several companies engaged in cold aerated beverages, food grain processing, wind generator blade manufacturing, CVC/PVC pipe production, solar wafer manufacturing, paints and chemicals, and renewable energy have come forward to establish their units in Vijayapura district. The combined investment from these proposals is estimated at Rs 17,000 crore.
Wings Vitera, known for its food grain processing operations including tur dal, has proposed to invest Rs 350 crore. Suzlon, a pioneer in the manufacture of large blades for the wind power sector, plans to invest Rs 360 crore in the district. In addition, Melstar, keeping in view the upcoming operationalisation of the Vijayapura airport, is keen to set up an aircraft flying training school. Another company has also expressed interest in establishing a similar training institute, which will also be permitted, he said.
Poddar, a manufacturer of CVC/PVC pipes, is planning to set up its unit in the district. All these proposals will be positively considered, and MoUs were signed with one or two of these companies during the ‘Invest Karnataka–25’ Global Investors Meet, he explained.
Speaking about proposals from the renewable energy sector, Patil stated that ReNew Power, Arsolec and Hecla Climate have proposed investments of Rs 4,700 crore, Rs 4,000 crore and Rs 8,000 crore respectively. If realised, these projects could bring investments worth around Rs 16,700 crore to the district. Grasim, operating in the paints and chemicals sector, has also expressed interest in investing, he added.
According to Patil, approximately 30 companies from the FMCG sector, 25 from the solar sector, and 15 from the textile sector have shown interest in investing in Vijayapura. Additionally, over 20 companies are keen to invest in sugarcane-based ethanol production, chocolate manufacturing, and cold aerated beverage units. Consultations with these companies are currently underway, he informed.
In addition, other approved proposals include Rs 490 crore by Zenfold Biosciences, Rs 174.99 crore by Astral Coatings, and Rs 499 crore by Wipro Hydraulics. These projects, together valued at around Rs 1,163 crore, have received approval, Patil stated.
Zenfold Biosciences plans to establish a production unit for enzymes used in the pharmaceutical sector.