Kolkata, Dec 29 (PTI) Only seven of 110 units that have booked a majority of space in a foundry park in West Bengal are operational now as the foundries are reeling under pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic and surging raw material costs, an official said on Tuesday.

Many investors, who have acquired land in the 600-acre foundry park in Howrah, have deferred their plans to set up units there due to the coronavirus crisis, he said, adding that this scenario is "temporary" and demand for space will increase.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has an impact on the industry. So far only seven units are operational, out of about 110 that have booked 70 per cent of the park's area.

"Now, there has been an unprecedented rise in pig iron price which is causing some headwinds," Foundry Cluster Development Association (FCDA) joint chairman Vijay Shankar Beriwal told PTI.

Demand for space will rise when the existing issues of high raw material costs will be resolved and the market condition improves, he said.

"We have decided to acquire more land and expand the existing park by 25 per cent to make it future-ready," the official of FCDA, a special purpose vehicle of the Indian Foundry Association, said.

The Centre has provided Rs 30 crore for setting up infrastructure and a common facility centre in the cluster, while the West Bengal government has given Rs 15 crore for sewerage and drainage systems.

Surging prices of pig iron, the key raw material for the industry, makes many units unviable but the silver lining is that export demand for casting products has increased.

"International buyers are now looking for casting products from India in the post-COVID scenario. Demand for casting materials is up by about 25 per cent," Beriwal claimed on the sidelines of the association's 15th AGM here.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)