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Sleepy Southern Areas Wake Up To A New Growth Phase
Posted by Pradeep Sadanapalli | June 26, 2008 | 571 views
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Loading ...Nellore and Chittoor districts in southern Andhra Pradesh are set to become the state’s manufacturing hub in the next five to 10 years.
Factors like a push from the state government, proximity to Chennai and Bangalore, readily-available infrastructure and vast land (about 25,000 acres), are changing the face of these areas, which have large multi-product special economic zones (SEZs) like Sri City, Naidupet Industrial Park and a Kisan SEZ.
To realise the area’s potential, the state government is planning to set up a manufacturing investment region (MIR), which will qualify for infrastructure grants from the Centre, between the port town of Krishnapatnam and Satyavedu on National Highway-5. The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) has asked L&T Ramboll to prepare the master plan and the feasibility report. This is being seen as the state’s answer to the Tamil Nadu government’s proposed MIR on the ChennaiBangalore highway.
State officials say an MIR with good infrastructure will attract the labour-intensive manufacturing industry, which has so far been the forte of Tamil Nadu in the south.
APIIC Chairman and Managing Director BP Acharya said over Rs 27,000 crore worth of investments had been lined up in the area in manufacturing alone. If the six power projects proposed to be built near Krishnapatnam are included, the amount will be over Rs 60,000 crore. “The MIR proposal is also being discussed at the government of India level,” he said.
The area’s major advantage is connectivity, say officials. Besides the four-lane NH-5, which connects Chennai and Kolkata, the 75-km stretch between Krishnapatnam and Satyavedu is well connected by rail. This is in addition to Krishnapatnam port, to be inaugurated next month. Though Tirupati and Chennai airports can meet the demand for air travel in the short term, a new airport has been proposed in Nellore. In addition to the existing SEZs, a 10,000-acre port-based SEZ is being planned, for which the APIIC is in the process of acquiring land, Acharya said.
The proposed manufacturing projects in the region include Rs 2,400-crore Kisan SEZ being set up by Iffco, Rs 880crore textile and apparel SEZ by MAS Holdings, Rs 1,100crore steel project of SBQ Steels Ltd, and Rs 3,500-crore industrial park and SEZ by the Caparo group.
Other projects include the Rs 500-crore Apache footwear SEZ, Rs 650-crore leather and leather products SEZ by Bharatiya International Ltd, Rs 100-crore leather SEZ by the Tatas and a consortium of shoe manufacturers, and Rs 18,000crore Sri City multi-product SEZ.
The SEZ of Taiwan-based Apache Footwear — the authorised manufacturer of Adidas sports shoes — which began operations one-and-a-half years ago was the first to highlight the potential of the area. Then came Sri City, followed by the Naidupet Industrial park project.
Apache Footwear India Pvt Ltd, which has been operating in a 314-acre footwear SEZ, plans to double its manpower to 10,000 by the end of this year and raise the production capacity to 400,000 pairs per month from the current 240,000 pairs. The state government has carved out a part of Naidupet Industrial Park (NIP) for Taiwanese companies, which are globally recognised as quality original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), to build up the state’s manufacturing base.
Last week, Taiwan-based Mei Ta Industrial Company signed an agreement with the state industries department for setting up an auto component unit in NIP, where it will invest about Rs 600 crore in phasin a 210-acre multi-product SEZ and on 20 acres of domestic tariff area. The Taiwanese and Chinese companies that propose to set up shop on the allotted land are Mei Ta, Streit, WAY SAI, NWS, DSP and DALF.
The APIIC has also allotted 2,000 acres to the UKbased Caparo Group of Lord Swraj Paul for setting up an aerospace and auto component complex at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore. The project would be implemented in over 15 years.
Similarly, the APIIC has allotted 714 acres to Sri Lankabased MAS Holdings for a textile and apparel SEZ with an investment of Rs 880 crore.
SBQ Steels Ltd, part of Chennai’s RKKR group, has started constructing its Rs 1,100crore project. Delhi-based Bharatiya International Ltd is setting up a leather and leather products SEZ at a cost of Rs 650 crore.
Apart from this, the APIIC has allotted 40 acres to Rogen Powertech Pvt Ltd for setting up a wind electric generators and components unit, 10 acres to Tata Ryersons Ltd for a steel fabrication unit, and 30 acres to B&G Infratech Pvt Ltd for power transmission and railway electrification products.
SOURCES:
Business Standard
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