 "Airbus seeks 100 acres for facility in Uttarakhand")
After beverage giant Coca-Cola, aircraft manufacturer Airbus is in talks with the Uttarakhand government for setting up a manufacturing facility at Sitarganj industrial estate in the state's Kumaon region.
"We have held a series of talks with Airbus, which wants to set up a manufacturing facility at Sitarganj," said R Rajesh Kumar, managing director of the State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Ltd (SIDCUL), which is developing the 1,700-acre Sitarganj industrial estate. SIDCUL is the state government's nodal agency for industrial development.
Kumar said Airbus was looking for 100 acres in Sitarganj and planned to invest Rs 1,000 crore on a facility there. "As soon as we finalise the deal, we will let you know," he added.
Government officials say Chief Secretary Rakesh Sharma has held talks with senior Airbus officials in New Delhi. "You might see this development as a follow-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France in April this year," said an official. Modi had visited an Airbus facility at Toulouse in France.
Earlier, Kumar had said Coca-Cola was close to finalising a deal for 70 acres at Sitarganj, where the company planned to set up a bottling plant. "I think the allotment (of land) will be done shortly," he had said, adding the investment by Coke would stand at Rs 400-500 crore. The company has already deposited Rs 1.26 crore with SIDCUL as earnest money.
Coca-Cola had scouted for an alternative site for a bottling plant after opposition by villagers hit plans to set up a facility at Chharba village in Dehradun district two years ago. The Uttarakhand high court had asked the state government to return the 25 acres allotted to Coca-Cola at Chharba to the local gram panchayat.
Officials here say the state is bullish on Coca-Cola's investment at Sitarganj, where the government is offering a slew of sops for mega projects. A spokesman of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverage Ltd, the Indian arm of Coca-Cola, confirmed the company was in talks with SIDCUL and the state government.
