Sutlej Textiles and Industries have been in talks with the Ethiopian government to set up a textile plant for the past seven months. But have reached no positive conclusion owing to high construction and transportation costs in the country. Sutlej has an annual turnover of Rs 20 billion.
If Ethiopian government officials agree to reduce costs, then the company is keen on making an initial investment in 25,000 spindles immediately and increase it to 50,000 spindles in the second phase. Sutlej plans to submit their formal business proposal to the government in a month or two.
At present, almost 15 foreign textile companies mainly from South Korea and India are awaiting for the completion of construction work of the Bole-Lemi industrial zone located east of the capital. Some of these companies have already made initial payments and some have also begun installing machineries in the new sheds for production.
Sutlej officials are contemplating a fresh round of meeting with the Ethiopian minister for agriculture to get acquainted with the federal and regional set up. As the earlier meetings with both federal and local government officials about accessing a plot of land was not successful. If this round of meeting goes well, Sutlej would invest in 200 acres of land to build a textile plant.
