Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated a bamboo technology park at industrial growth centre in Chaygaon on June 22 in presence of Assam industries and commerce minister Chandra Mohan Patowary.
Inaugurating the park, Sonowal said that the Northeast region is home to 66 per cent of India’s bamboo. He said that there are hundreds of MSMEs that produces incense sticks and bamboo handicraft products. Two very large paper plants are situated in Assam that use bamboo as raw material. He said that the local youth should take up entrepreneurship based on bamboo using the facilities of the park, which will also bring benefit the bamboo growers.
The park has been set up at the initiative of the state industries and commerce department with the help from Union department of industrial policy and promotion through a special purpose vehicle of AIDC and private entrepreneurs. Primary object of the project is to provide infrastructure facilities to bamboo entrepreneurs against payment of user charge. The total cost of the project is Rs 62.28 crores. An area of 60 bigha has already been developed with road, drainage, electricity and water amenities; part of which will be leased out to entrepreneurs to set up their bamboo based factories.
A modern common facility centre has become operational that has modern equipment for producing many innovative bamboo products like – strand woven bamboo block making facility, vacuum pressure treatment plant, resin making facility, bamboo stick making facility, bamboo – waste plastic composite making facility, charcoal making facility, etc.
An R&D facility and design centre is also coming up. There is a marketing centre with exhibition space and training infrastructure.
