Indo-Spanish venture for olive oil extraction in HP

Shimla, Mar 4 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today said the state would welcome the Indo-Spanish joint venture olive oil extraction unit establishment in the interiors of the state to give a boost to cash crop cultivation among farmers of the state.

He discussed the Indo-Spanish joint venture proposal presented here by Mr Jose Manuel Santamaria, Managing Director of Sojivit SL, Spain and Mr RS Kandhari, Project Coordinator to set up olive oil extraction unit in the state.

The Chief Minister said border areas of the state had already received the industrial units to its capacity and there was not much scope to set up more industrial units in such areas. ''The investors are being pursued to invest in the interiors of the state where similar incentives and other benefits are available besides cheap land and floating power facilities. The state government is endeavouring to disperse industrial units to rest of the state where it has not made any presence so far.'' He said the basic infrastructure had already been created and industrial areas developed accordingly to meet the immediate requirements of the prospective entrepreneurs.

Mr Dhumal said that the proposal for the joint venture to develop the olive oil farm in the backward and interiors of the state would be welcomed where the interests of the stake holders and people of the state would be protected as per the norms.

The venture would also be roping in local farmers to cultivate olive trees and sell the produce to the company for remunerative prices, he said, adding that the technical know how and other assistance would be made available to the farmers by the company.

UNI XC PS RL AS2046