Karnataka planning exclusive industrial park for Korean companies: MB Patil

Bengaluru: Karnataka plans to develop an industrial park for Korean companies with a focus on machine-tool manufacturers, industries minister MB Patil said Wednesday.

The proposed Korea Park will be developed on the lines of the Japan Industrial Park near Tumakuru that attracted companies to the state’s manufacturing ecosystem. The location of the proposed park will be decided at a later stage, Patil said.

The move comes as Karnataka seeks to attract more foreign investments and develop sector-specific industrial clusters. The state is also planning to develop another 300-acres cluster for Japanese companies in the Information Technology Investment Region near Devanahalli, as announced last year.


“The Japan Tools Industrial Park established near Tumakuru has been successful, and a Korea Park would also be developed on the same model,” a government statement quoted Patil as saying.

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The proposed park comes as Korean machine-tool maker DN Solutions inaugurated its first manufacturing facility in India at the Kundana General Industrial Area in Devanahalli taluk.

The 25-acre facility received a Phase I investment of Rs 600 crore and houses manufacturing, research and development, a technical centre and after-sales service operations. DN Solutions is considering investments of a similar scale in future phases, depending on market demand and business growth, the company said in a statement.

The facility was inaugurated by Patil on Wednesday.

The agreement with DN Solutions was signed two years ago, Patil said. “It is a significant achievement that the manufacturing and R&D facilities have been completed within such a short period. It is particularly noteworthy that both facilities have been established at the same location.”

Machine tools play a critical role across manufacturing sectors, including automobiles, heavy engineering, aerospace, defence and precision manufacturing, he said.

“Karnataka accounts for 52% of India’s overall machine-tool production,” Patil said, adding that this was one of the key reasons for DN Solutions choosing the state for its investment.

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The minister said the state was moving from a services-led to a manufacturing-driven economy and that the government was prioritising investments in manufacturing.

Industries department principal secretary S Selvakumar, Karnataka Udyog Mitra managing director Dodda Basavaraj and industry executives were present at the event.