Reliance Consumer Products rolls out Rs 40,000-cr food park strategy: Andhra unit to make spices, noodles, atta; Nagpur project up next

Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL), the fast-moving consumer goods arm of Reliance Industries (RIL), is set to open its first food park in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh with an investment of Rs 768 crore.The facility will come up in Brahmanapalli village of Orvakal area as part of the company’s plan to invest Rs 40,000 crore over the next three years in integrated food parks across India.The Kurnool park will be located about three hours from Hyderabad and five hours from Bengaluru airport by road. It will house manufacturing units for chocolates and other confectionery, snacks, noodles, atta, rice and spices, reported ET.The Andhra Pradesh State Investment Promotion Committee (SIPC) has cleared the allotment of 120 acres to RCPL for the project. The land parcel is close to a planned beverages manufacturing facility, for which the company has been allotted 80 acres.The project is expected to go before the state cabinet for approval within two weeks.Last week, RCPL signed an MoU with the Maharashtra government to set up an integrated facility in Nagpur.

However, Andhra Pradesh has taken the lead with quicker approvals and land allotment, making Kurnool the site of RCPL’s first food park.The project will be executed in two phases and is expected to create 500 jobs. The first phase will have a production capacity of about 23,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) of spices, 3,800 TPA of snacks, and 14,400 TPA of noodles and pasta. The second phase will add 32,900 TPA of confectionery and chocolates, 36,500 TPA of rice, and 120,000 TPA of atta.Reliance Retail Ventures executive director Isha Ambani said at RIL’s annual general meeting last month that the investment in food parks will help RCPL become India’s largest consumer goods firm and achieve `1 lakh crore in annual revenue within five years.