The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) proposes to set up a Rs 800 crore state-of-the art textile processing cluster housing about 100 dyeing and printing mills in Surat district and has approached the centre for 50 per cent funding.

Even as the proposal for land allotment for the ambitious project on 50 lakh square metre area in Pinjrat village project is pending with the state government, SGCCI office bearers submitted a letter to visiting textile commissioner Kavita Gupta seeking Rs 400 crore grant for developing the cluster.

The total project cost for the cluster is pegged at Rs 800 crore. The SGCCI is eyeing 50 per cent grant from the centre and 25 per cent each from the state government and the industry, according to a report.

“This is going to be an ambitious project to boost the manufacturing capacity and quality of textile processing sector in Surat. At present, only eight to 10 textile processing units manufacture finished fabrics as per the requirement of the garment sector, while the rest lack the technical know-how. We want to set up a processing cluster having big units with hi-tech technology and upgradation,” SGCCI president B S Agarwal said.