Bengaluru: Months after the Karnataka government resolved to fast-track the mega textile project at Kalaburagi under the Centre’s PM MITRA (Pradhan Mantri Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel) scheme, Home, IT-BT and e-Governance Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday announced that the state has finalised the first-phase infrastructure blueprint and administrative framework for the project, paving the way for construction to commence in the coming months.

Reviewing the project’s progress at a high-level meeting in Vikas Soudha, Kharge said the groundwork required for the systematic and time-bound implementation of the project has been completed. The development comes after the state government earmarked ₹75 crore for the project in the 2026-27 budget. In May this year, Industries Minister MB Patil and Kharge held a review meeting in Kalaburagi and planned to revise the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and submit it to the Project Approval Committee of the Centre.

The PM MITRA park, estimated to attract investments of over ₹1,800 crore, is one of the flagship industrial projects planned for the Kalyana Karnataka region. The project will be developed in phases, with the first phase spanning nearly 1,000 acres near Honna Kiranagi, Nadisinnur and Firozabad villages along the Kalaburagi–Jewargi highway.

Conceived as an integrated textile manufacturing hub based on the Centre’s “5F” vision — Farm to Fibre, Fibre to Factory, Factory to Fashion and Fashion to Foreign — the park is expected to generate more than one lakh direct jobs and between two and three lakh indirect employment opportunities.

Kharge said the park is being designed with world-class plug-and-play infrastructure to enable textile and apparel industries to commence operations with minimal lead time.

The first phase will include land development, construction of internal roads and installation of a reinforced cement concrete (RCC) drainage network for stormwater management. The infrastructure plan also provides for underground high-tension and low-tension power distribution lines and solar-powered street lighting.

To meet industrial water requirements, authorities will establish a comprehensive water supply network supported by a five-lakh-litre ground-level reservoir and a 10-lakh-litre elevated treated-water reservoir. Environmental safeguards have also been built into the project through the proposed establishment of a 2.5 MLD Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) equipped with Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) technology. The minister directed officials to ensure strict quality standards and adhere to timelines while executing the project.

The PM MITRA park was sanctioned by the Centre in 2023, with Kalaburagi being selected because the larger Kalyana Karnataka region — comprising Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Bidar and Vijayapura districts — is among the country’s major cotton-growing belts. Following the project’s approval, the then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai laid the foundation stone and oversaw the signing of MoUs with around 10 textile and cotton-processing firms, involving proposed investments of nearly ₹2,000 crore.

The meeting was attended by Commerce and Industries Department Principal Secretary Selvakumar S, Textile Department Secretary Rohini Sindhuri, Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) Chief Executive Officer Govind Reddy and other senior officials. Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Ikrumulla Shareef participated virtually.