BBC: An industrial park for Islamic goods and produce, which could mean about 3,000 jobs, might open in south Wales.
News of the proposed £150m Super Halal Industrial Park (SHIP) was revealed at an Islamic finance summit in London.
Mahesh Jayanarayan, chairman of Halal Industries, said Wales was chosen as the project's site for its meat industries and affordable land prices.
The assembly government said they were "tenative proposals" and and it would work closely with the firm.
The firm, a private equity company, said it was raising funds for the venture, which could launch in three to five years.
Mr Jayanarayan told the Reuters Islamic Banking and Finance Summit that Europe has no Halal industrial parks, despite being home to millions of Muslims.
Halal is an Arabic term meaning "permissible" and while it is often associated with meat, it refers to anything that is permissible in the Islamic faith.
The industrial park could create up to 3,000 jobs and would make the UK a landmark Halal centre for the region, Mr Jayanarayan told the finance summit.
It would provide services like storage freezers, a product packing centre, and raw material storage for manufacturers for food production. Meat selection and processing as well as research and development would also be offered.
Mr Jayanarayan said: "If you look at some figures, the halal sector in the UK is worth between £2bn to £4bn, the majority of that is imported.
"You have 2.5 billion people on the planet eating halal food, directly or indirectly," he told the summit.
"This halal market is not going away, it is not some fad. >>> | Tuesday, February 16, 2010
SOUTH WALES EVENING POST: Industrial park plan puts jobs boost on cards: AN industrial park that could create 1,500 jobs is on the cards for a site in Carmarthenshire or Neath. >>> | Tuesday, March 23, 2010
SOUTH WALES EVENING POST: THE British National Party has been accused of putting their "narrow prejudice before the chance of good jobs" after vowing to oppose a major development earmarked for the region.
Carmarthenshire and Neath have been named as the preferred home for a proposed £150 million Super Halal Industrial Park, said to promise around 1,500 jobs.
But the BNP say they will fight the plans because the jobs would be given to Muslims.
Writing on our website, Kevin Edwards, BNP Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Aberavon, said: "If the people of Wales think this will provide employment for them then they must think again. If this is given the go ahead the vast majority of jobs created will have to be allocated to Muslims."
Mr Edwards, a Penygroes community councillor, added: "The Welsh Assembly has a shameful record of handing out grants to companies that have fled as soon as the money has gone.
"When this happens, as it inevitably will, 'the industrial estate' will wind up and there will be 5,000 more Muslims in the UK claiming benefits and living on our doorsteps.
"Only the British National Party will oppose this development."
Criticism of how halal meat is produced has also sparked debate.
Traditionally, halal meat is killed by hand without stunning the animal first, and then blessed by the person doing the job, although some Muslims say a mechanised form is also now acceptable.
Julie Richards, from Pontarddulais, said: "It is absolutely barbaric. Lambs are going to be strung up and bled to death. It is not humane." >>> | Monday, March 29, 2010
