MUMBAI, June 18: The Maharashtra government plans to set up a state-of-the-art dairy project in Dahisar, a western suburb of Mumbai. The project - a first of its kind in the state - will cost Rs 150 crore. Three international firms - JP Hansen Group, APV Dairy Machines of Denmark and National Co-operative Federation of France - have agreed to offer their expertise to set up the project on a turnkey basis, said state dairy development minister Narayan Rane to The Financial Express after his whirlwind tour to Denmark, Holland, France and Switzerland. He was accompanied by Suresh Joshi, secretary, dairy development department and S B Talekar, executive director, Maharashtra Rajya Sahakari Dudh Mahasangh Maryadit (MRSDMM).

According to Rane, the MRSDMM project will be set up over 35 acres. MRSDMM, popularly known as Mahanand, is an implementing agency for the Operation Flood programme under the state guarantee which covers 20 districts and 30 talukas. The preliminary report from the National Dairy Development Board on this project has already been received.

Rane said the dairy project includes programmable logistic controlled (PLC) plant with milk handling capacity of 8 lakh litre per day and manufacturing capacity of value-added milk products like cheese, dairy whitener, ice-cream, low-fat table butter, ghee, shrikhand, paneer and pancake.

He said the Hansen group, which has an annual turnover of Rs 2,500 crore, will offer the total financial package and market the milk products overseas. "Initially, they have given us an assurance to market 100 tonnes cheese per month," he added.

According to Rane, a high-level team of the Hansen Group will arrive here on June 30 or July 1 to work out modalities and hold talks with government officials.

He said APV-Dairy Machines, a dairy machine equipment manufacturing company with nearly 200 sales and service offices worldwide, is also involved in process engineering, productive manufacturing, food analysis and packaging.

APV, which has already entered the Indian markets with Larsen & Toubro, has plans to expand its activities independently, he added.

The National Co-operative Federation of France, a conglomeration of five different companies, has proposed to arrange for soft loan and product manufacturing technology especially for the production of pancakes.

"Further, they can market Mahanand's proposed line of products and Mahanand, in turn, will market their products in India," he added.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.