Ayurpark Health Care Ltd, the cluster initiative of the Centre has received a term loan sanction of Rs.5 crore from the State Bank of India. The Park which spans over an area of two acres requires a total investment of Rs.17.36 crore to complete the construction.

The Centre has set aside Rs.10 crore for the Park in Karnataka and Rs.6 crore was disbursed in March 2010. The remaining Rs.4 crore is to come in before the end of this fiscal. The company has also raised an equity participation of Rs.2.36 crore of which Rs.1.09 crore is paid-up. It will require another Rs.5 crore which SBI has sanctioned. The fund availability will help speed up the construction of the Park which is slated for commissioning in June 2011. “By January, we are working to have a part of the Park opened for use by the industry,” JSD Pani, chairman, Ayurpark Health Care and president, Karnataka Indian Medicine Manufacturers Association (KIMMA) told Pharmabiz.

The Park which is located at Upasapura, Malur taluk in Karnataka will be developed by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd which is its Special Purpose Vehicle of the project. Giving an update on the construction, Pani informed that construction of the Common Facility Centre is on. Prefabricated building is designed for raw material stores block and utility block which will be ready by the end of December 2010, he added.

Slab casting for the ground floor of the manufacturing facility has also started. But with recent notification in the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules, making provision for use of aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts of the medicinal plants in the formulations of Ayush drugs, mandates the need to include an extraction facility. “In order to adhere to the new order, without affecting the total project cost, we have now identified an unit in the Dakshina Kannada district which is setting up an 1,000 litre per day production capacity for Asavas and Arishtas unit. This is where the members of the Ayurpark Health Care can enter into a strategic alliance to utilize the same,” said Pani.

Further, Ayurpark Health Care has entered into memorandum of understanding with the Karnataka State Forest Industries Corporation to source the medicinal plants. It is also working with farmers with the assistance of the Karnataka Medicinal Plants Authority to explore the backward linkages through Tamil Nadu Agricultural University’s Department of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Dr S B Dandin, vice chancellor, University of Horticultural Sciences Bagalkot has evinced interest to work with Ayurpark Health Care for backward linkages.

Efforts are also on to network with other clusters in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Networking has been viewed as an opportunity for growth of the small and tiny industries, he said.

The current membership of Ayurpark Health Care is 50 which includes industry, cultivators and doctor Of these 42 are Ayush industry representatives. The state’s Ayush industry has exhibited its maturity, commitment for growth and also has set a model to other clusters in the country, said Pani.