Ground breaking ceremony for Ashok Leyland's bus manufacturing

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today conducted the ground-breaking ceremony for the Ashok Leylands bus manufacturing plant in Krishna district.

Once it becomes operational, the company's first plant in Andhra Pradesh will have a capacity to manufacture 4,800 buses per annum.

Spread over a 75-acre site at Mallavalli village, 40-km from Vijayawada, the plant will include latest technologies to deliver the high-quality standards of Ashok Leyland brand.

"It will also have a state-of-the-art learning center and an advanced service training center. Setting up of this plant will help increase the skill level of the employable workforce in Andhra Pradesh and will have the potential to employ over 5,000 persons, Ashok Leyland MD and CEO Vinod K Dasari said on the occasion.

"While this unit will have the capability to make the entire range of buses of Ashok Leyland brand, it will also include an electric vehicle development centre comprising a futuristic conveyor line, pilot assembly line and prototype development", he said.

It will be a completely green facility, with rooftop solar panels, LED lighting, battery-operated vehicles for in-plant movement, positive water balance and zero discharge, he said.

This would also ensure the companys readiness towards implementing the bus body code and meeting the rising demand for ready-to-use, fully-built trucks as well, Dasari said.

Ashok Leyland Chairman Dheeraj G Hinduja, in a message on the occasion, said his company has been at the forefront of mass mobility in the country.

"With this new plant, we are preparing ourselves for the future," he said.