UP plans first handicrafts park near airport to boost rural units

Lucknow

The proposed greenfield international airport in Jewar flanking the national capital will allow wide-bodied passenger and cargo aircraft to land and take off from its runway once it becomes operational a few years from now.

However, the Jewar airport, being developed by Swiss major Zurich Airport International (Zurich AG), will give wings to the handicrafts and indigenous industrial products of Uttar Pradesh as well.

To leverage the aviation hub in the making at Greater Noida (Gautam Buddha Nagar district), the UP government is now developing the state’s first handicrafts park in Sector 29 of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA).

According to the state government, 76 industrialists have acquired land in the park spread over 50 acres in the vicinity of the airport. They will collectively invest more than Rs 400 crore. The project will create fresh employment opportunities for 22,144 people.

The handicrafts park will provide a major leg-up to the state’s flagship One District, One Product (ODOP) scheme, which is among chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s pet projects.

The handicrafts park will feature workshops, factories and outlets engaged in making, showcasing and selling a wide range of handicrafts to domestic and global visitors. This is aimed at conserving the traditional crafts, providing employment to artisans, augmenting exports and hiking the handicrafts sector contribution to the state’s economy.

UP’s rich traditional handicrafts, including Banarasi sari of Varanasi, brassware of Moradabad, perfumes of Kannauj, chikankari of Lucknow and terracotta of Gorakhpur, are known far and wide globally. The park will showcase their craftsmanship to the world and allow people to shop for these world-famous handicrafts under a single roof.

According to YEIDA officials, entrepreneurs in the handicrafts sector are excited at the viability of the proposed handicrafts park. Prominent among the investors are Vikas Exports, which deals in wood, metal and marble works. It has been allotted 5,000 square metres of land for its venture.

Similarly, land has been allotted to The Silk Factory, Rateria Exports, Narayan Creation, Wazir Chand & Co, Dux India Industries, Dwar Footwear and Specialist Home Concepts.

Meanwhile, the Jewar airport will be designed, developed and operated under a 40-year concession period, while Zurich AG will invest more than Rs 4,500 crore in the first phase of the project. The new airport will decongest New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and boost industrial development in the Noida and Yamuna Expressway regions.