Agartala, July 7: The Rs 800-crore rubber sector of the state is all set to overtake Kerala, with the second rubber park in the country coming up in Tripura.

The park, set up for value addition to the natural rubber produced in the state, would also act as a hub to tap the potential for export to south Asian countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam, among others.

The first rubber park of the country is at Irapuram in Kerala.

Six companies have already taken up space in the 59-acre rubber park plot at Bodhungnagar growth centre, and have started putting in place their infrastructure for producing rubber-based items like tyres, tubes, centrifuged latex and HR rubber thread.

The park, located 25km northeast of Agartala, is expected to give a big boost to the booming rubber sector in the state.

The Tripura Industrial Development Corporation (TIDC) and the Rubber Board are jointly developing the park, which is being promoted under the ASIDE (Assistance to States for creating Infrastructure for the Development and growth of Exports) scheme.

“The rubber industry in Tripura has grown into a viable sector over the past two decades and after Kerala, Tripura is now the second largest producer of natural rubber in the country. Currently, 35,760 hectares of land in the state are under rubber cultivation with an annual production of 20,000 metric tonnes of latex. We are expecting the production to rise to 25,000 metric tonnes within the next five years,” chairperson of Tripura Industrial Development Corporation (TIDC) Pabitra Kar said.

Describing the atmosphere for investment in Tripura as “ideal” in the wake of the decline in insurgency, Kar added that Tripura would emerge as the largest rubber producing state in the country in the coming days, relegating Kerala to second position.

The park is also located close to rubber plantations, which means easy access to raw materials.

A senior official said the rubber industry in Tripura was all set to grow manifold, given the abundance of suitable land for rubber cultivation coupled with cheap labour and various state and central incentives. The land under rubber cultivation in the state is expected to grow by another one lakh hectares.

“We had mooted the idea of launching the rubber park in Tripura in 2008 to ensure rapid expansion of the sector and provide investors with the basic infrastructure. Work on the park commenced in 2009 and the total investment till completion was Rs 23 crore. We have allotted 27 acre of land to the six companies that came forward to set up rubber value addition units here,” Kar said.

He added that the state government had also extended a benefits package for rubber sector entrepreneurs, which includes capital investment subsidy of 30 per cent with a ceiling of Rs 30 lakh, additional capital investment subsidy of five per cent for units that export rubber-based goods, sales tax reimbursement for five years from the date of launching a new unit, price preference of 10 per cent on all purchases by the government and others.

“Our package is further buttressed by a central package which provides 90 per cent transport subsidy between Siliguri and Agartala, comprehensive insurance cover against storms, lightning, earthquakes, strikes, fire and damages caused by terrorists,” Kar added.

He said a rubber thread manufacturing unit set up by the Dharampal Satyapal group outside the park was doing brisk business and exporting their products even to Europe.

A state rubber mission has also been set up to act as an agency to coordinate, monitor and plan activities of the sector and also to coordinate the funds tie-ups, provide training and initiate capacity building measures. The per capita rubber consumption in India is 800gm as against the world average of 3kg.