Amul Announces Mega Dairy Facility in West Bengal; Union Home Minister to Lay Foundation Stone On June 13

KOLKATA — In a major boost to eastern India’s agro-industrial sector, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)—the parent body of India’s largest dairy brand, Amul—has announced a massive ₹650-crore (around USD 70 Mill.) investment to establish an integrated mega dairy processing facility at the Sankrail Food Park in Howrah, West Bengal.

Administrative sources confirmed on Tuesday that India’s Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit West Bengal on June 13 to officially lay the foundation stone for the mega-project. The high-profile groundbreaking ceremony (bhumi puja) will be attended by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, alongside over a hundred distinguished guests and regional dairy farmers.

A First for Amul in the Region

While Amul products have long been a household staple across the state, this development marks a critical corporate shift: it will be Amul’s first fully owned and operated mega dairy manufacturing facility in West Bengal.

The strategic roadmap for the facility was finalized following a high-level meeting at Nabanna (the state secretariat) between Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and a senior delegation from GCMMF, which included Managing Director Jayen Mehta and Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union (Amul Dairy) chief Amit Vyas.

“In the coming days, the investment and business expansion of a large and renowned organization like Amul in Bengal will play a crucial role in economic development, employment generation, and the growth of the dairy industry,” Chief Minister Adhikari stated following the conclusion of the talks.

World’s Largest Curd Facility to Lead Two-Phase Rollout

The integrated production complex will be executed in two distinct phases by a Gujarat-based engineering partner. Once firing on all cylinders, the facility is designed to process and produce a staggering 10 lakh kilograms (1 million kg) of dairy products every single day.

The crown jewel of the Sankrail complex will be a state-of-the-art curd production unit, which Amul claims will stand as the world’s largest curd manufacturing facility. The plant will focus heavily on value-added dairy segments to meet rapidly surging consumer demand across West Bengal and northeastern India, rolling out:

• Dahi & regional favorite Mishti Doi

• Yogurt & Paneer

• Lassi & Buttermilk

• Fresh milk packaging and butter processing

Transforming the Regional Dairy Value Chain

Industry observers view this investment as a definitive turning point for the state’s agricultural economy. By integrating Amul’s highly efficient cooperative supply-chain model directly into the local ecosystem, the facility will establish direct milk procurement networks from thousands of smallholder regional farmers.

Equipped with advanced automated quality testing systems and localized cold-chain logistics, the pipeline aims to cut out traditional predatory intermediaries. This will give local livestock farmers guaranteed market access, stable year-round procurement prices, and direct technical support to enhance milk yield and purity.

Furthermore, the state administration is highlighting the project as a critical milestone in reviving industrial confidence in West Bengal. Beyond creating extensive direct manufacturing jobs and indirect logistics employment in the Howrah and greater Kolkata regions, sources indicate that GCMMF is already evaluating future expansion footprints in North Bengal as part of its long-term eastern India growth strategy.