Amazon to expand Hyderabad operations

US-based online retail giant Amazon has urged the Andhra Pradesh government to sort out the legal issues pertaining to 10 acres of land allotted to it in 2005 in the Financial District in Hyderabad.

An Amazon team headed by John Schoettler met chief minister, N Kiran Kumar Reddy, on Wednesday and apprised him of the three writ petitions filed in the state high court by certain villagers who had “encroached” the land.

According to an official press release, Amazon was invited to set shop in Hyderabad by the state government and allotted 10 acres of land for the purpose seven years ago. However, while the company was in the process of taking possession of the land, it was encroached by some villagers. They also filed writ petitions in the high court, which had given status quo orders.

Meanwhile, Amazon had started its research and development and technology support operations from leased premises here. It has so far employed 4,000 people, much more than 1,750 jobs it had to provide according to the memorandum of understanding it had signed in connection with the allotment of the land.

Over the past two years, the press release stated, Amazon has leased out 150,000 sft for its operations and it now requires an additional 500,000 sft to meet its expansion plans for the next two years.

Simultaneously, Amazon would like to build its own facility and its team approached the chief minister and sought his help in sorting out the legal hassles enabling it to take possession of the allotted land. The state government extended “full support” to the company in this regard. The company’s Hyderabad facility registered a turnover of Rs 183 crore in 2010-11.