The story
Chimakurthy in Prakasam district has deposits of Black Galaxy granite, a black stone with golden flecks found in very few places in the world. Quarrying grew from the 1980s, and cutting and polishing units sprang up around Chimakurthy and Ongole. Slabs and blocks are exported to the US, China, Japan and Europe. Black Galaxy granite is the district's One District One Product.
In numbers
The Chimakurthy granite processing cluster had 127 functional units, a turnover of Rs 470 million and employment of 15,000 (2010-11 data).
Brief Industrial Profile of Prakasam District (MSME-DI Hyderabad, DC-MSME) · 2011
Ways in for a newcomer
- Cutting and polishing job-work
- Granite tiles and countertops for builders
- Slurry and waste recycling into bricks and tiles
- Diamond tools and abrasives supply
Problems the cluster faces
- Raw blocks exported instead of processed locally
- Low skill for modern machines
- Dust and slurry pollution
- Poor cluster infrastructure
Businesses to start here
Granite Tile Cutting and Polishing Unit →Stone Polishing Unit →Stone Crusher (Aggregates) →