CHENNAI : After bagging a Rs 24.4 crore project to develop the premier leather institute in Ethiopia, the Central Leather Institute in the country is now all set to go places. While Ethiopia has already approached CLRI for the next phase of the developments, several other countries are joining the ranks to get the expert advice of the premier institution for setting up their own leather parks.
“We have already submitted the proposal for the second phase of development for Ethiopia. Apart from this, we have submitted a proposal with South Africa and prepared a feasibility report for a similar leather complex in Botswana,” said B Chandrasekaran, chief scientist, Centre for Human & Organisational Resources Development at the CLRI.
It all began after a successful Bench Marking Programme for which CLRI was approached by the government of Ethiopia for technological upgradation of selected tanneries in the country. After the success of the programme, the country decided to rope in CLRI for their own Leather Industries Development Institute. Of the US $6.5 million allotted by the Ethiopian government for the project, as much as 4 million (Rs 24.4 crore) went to the CLRI. The project included training of staff, industrial services and vocational training.
“This is the biggest project of its kind under the CSIR in a foreign country. While we have been associated with specific consultancy projects, this is first time that we have done a full scale development of an institute. Over the years, premier leather institutes in European countries have been shut down as the markets shifted to Asian and Latin American countries. As such, CLRI is now the biggest research institution of its kind both in terms of qualified manpower and the number of research publications. This is one of the reasons why we have several countries now approaching us,” said the scientist.
While the first phase was completed in September this year, the leather institute is all set for the next phase for which a proposal of US$ 1.8 million has been submitted. This will involve setting up of a linkage between the research institute and the Leather Industries Development Institute of Ethiopia on the lines of the Anna University- CLRI linkage through which degree programmes would be started by the university with training from the research institute.