SKOPJE (Macedonia), July 15 (SeeNews) – Indian conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar plans to invest 200 million euro ($261 million) in Macedonian farming company Djumajlija in the next three years under a lease agreement, the government in Skopje said.
The Indian group plans to invest 60 million euro in the first 18 months after the lease agreement enters into force, the Macedonian government said in a statement, adding that Sahara India Pariwar has placed a bank guarantee confirming its investment plans.
Over the next three years the Indian group plans to build a dairy with daily production capacity of 80,000 litres of milk and to breed 20,000 cows on a 5,353-hectare land plot owned by Djumajlija. It also plans to produce 75,000 tonnes of fodder, the government said, quoting the group’s owner Subrata Roy.
The Indian company is committed to opening 900 new jobs in the first 18 months, increasing their number to 2,000 in three years.
Djumajlija, which is located in the eastern municipality of Sveti Nikole, grows grain and other crops, and owns sheep and pig farms, a dairy and a winery.
Last year, Macedonian media reported that Sahara India Pariwar plans to build a luxury tourist complex in the area of Macedonia's Ohrid Lake for an undisclosed sum.
Sahara India Pariwar has interests in finance, infrastructure, housing, media and entertainment, consumer merchandise retail venture, manufacturing and information technology.
($=0.7672 euro)