Auro Sundram International is set to invest Rs 250 crore in establishing a starch manufacturing plant in the Araria district of Bihar. The announcement was made by the company’s Director, Ashok Kumar Choudhary, during the Bihar Business Connect 2024 Global Investors Summit.

The new facility will be located in Forbesganj, where the company already operates a maize processing plant that became operational last year following a Rs 100 crore investment. This existing plant supplies maize grits to FMCG companies and floating fish feeds to fish farmers.

“We are planning to set up a starch manufacturing plant at the same location with an investment of Rs 250 crore,” Choudhary said in an interview with PTI. The plant, which will have a daily production capacity of 500 tonnes, is expected to be operational by March 2027. It will supply starch to various industries, including pharmaceutical companies.

The investment will be financed through a mix of equity and debt. Highlighting the region’s potential, Choudhary noted that maize is a major crop in North Bihar, with an annual production of approximately 50 lakh tonnes. "There are significant business opportunities in the food processing sector in North Bihar," he added.

The Bihar government’s fiscal and other incentives for industrial development have also encouraged investments. Choudhary revealed that the company is targeting an annual revenue of Rs 125 crore in the current fiscal year.

The Bihar Business Connect summit’s second edition saw a substantial boost in investment commitments, attracting Rs 1.81 lakh crore, more than triple the Rs 50,300 crore pledged in the first edition. A total of 423 companies committed to investments across various sectors, with renewable energy leading at Rs 90,734 crore across 17 units.