Rs 250-crore bus making unit comes up in Telangana

Set up by Deccan Auto Ltd, the plant will produce 3,000 buses initially, for both domestic and export markets

After Mahindra's enhanced presence with a 100,000-unit capacity tractor manufacturing plant at Zaheerabad in Medak district, the upcoming auto-sector in Telangana received yet another boost with an addition of a bus manufacturing plant that also seeks to tap export markets.

To be inaugurated by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday, the Rs 250-crore facility, set up by Deccan Auto Limited, will have a capacity to produce 3,000 buses in the initial phase.

“It will be a world-class facility, which will serve both domestic and export markets in Asia and Africa where the group has a very big presence in the cement and steel industry,” MSRV Prasad, chairman of Deccan Auto, said in a statement. The plant has been accredited by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and conforms to the New Bus Code, the company said.

Deccan Auto has a technical association with a state-owned Chinese auto company, Jhongtong, for the Hyderabad operations while its promoter, Prasad, also holds a majority stake in Pune-based Corona Bus Manufacturing bringing the two together.

According to company spokesperson Balaji Rao, Deccan will focus on the luxury segment targeting the private sector while Corona would continue to focus on government transport and city bus. An order for 25 Corona buses placed by the Pune corporation will be built at the Hyderabad plant, he said.

“We will build both integral coaches and monocoque buses ranging across all sizes starting from 8 metre to 18 metre with rear engines, suitable even for school buses,” Balaji said.

The company proposes to double the capacity to 6,000 units a year once the first phase operations pick up in the next six years.

Located in a 75-acre area, the first module has been built on 18 acres with a covered area of 200,000 sft. The plant is located at Kodakachani village in Medak district, about 40 km from Hyderabad.