Gujarat’s first agro mall set up by the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) with an investment of Rs 350 crore in the city will open in February in Surat.
Raman Jani, chairman of Gujarat State Agriculture Marketing Board (GSAMB), said, “We intend to open the agro mall for the people by the end of February.
We are waiting for chief minister Narendra Modi’s consent for being the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony.”
According to Jani, the wholesale market will be a one-stop shop for city residents. They will be able to shop anything and everything under one roof at discounted prices. All green vegetables and fruits displayed in racks inside the mall will provide vital information on health benefits and other advantages.
Jani said that facilities like testing and certification laboratory, central electronic auction system, online spot commodity trading platform, ripening chamber and cold storage, agriculture training centre for farmers, banking facilities and mechanized material handling system will be set up inside the market.
In the second phase of the market project, the APMC plans to develop facilities like setting up a five-star hotel for foreign traders and visitors, rest rooms for farmers, commercial office space for dealers, collection centre for farmers in the villages and towns in south Gujarat, facilities like grading cleaning, packaging and weighing, banking facility, information kiosks, agri-clinic and extension services and total banking support.
Sources: Gujaratindia.com
