Hindujas plan multi-product SEZ in Vizag

The Hinduja Group is planning to set up a multi-product special economic zone (SEZ) at Visakhapatnam.

It is also planning to use the land where Indian Detonators Limited (IDL), a group company, is located in Hyderabad for alternative purposes after shifting the present operations outside the city.

Prakash Hinduja, president (Europe) of Hinduja Group, who met chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy here on Monday to seek the government's support for their investment plans, including the establishment of a multi-product SEZ, in the state, said that the latter's response was positive.

"We had an interesting meeting with the chief minister. He is very forward looking in terms of investments coming to Andhra Pradesh," Prakash Hinduja said while stating that the Hinduja Group was planning to move immediately on two investment fronts, namely SEZ & power and manufacturing & engineering in the state. The group would move ahead with the revival of the power project at Visakhapatnam, he said.

While extending support, in principle, to the Hinduja's plans, the chief minister asked them to come back with detailed project proposals to discuss specific requirements, if any, to be met by the government, officials said.

However, Prakash Hinduja did not divulge any details with regard to investments required for the proposed projects even as sources in the government maintained that only preliminary discussions were held at today's meeting.

According to government sources, Prakash proposed to develop a multi-product SEZ in the same land that was offered to the company by the previous government for setting up of a 1,000-Mw thermal power project, which, however, could not materialise as the government viewed the capital cost projected by the group as quite steep.

The previous government had offered about 3,000 acres of land for the power project and already alienated about 1,200 acres in favour of the company.

Sources told Business Standard that the government had agreed, in principle, to the usage of land for an SEZ while responding positively to the Hinduja's request to transfer the remaining land since a multi-product SEZ requires a minimum of 2,500 acres.

While stating that the issue of revival of the power project did not come up at the meeting, they maintained that the possibility of entering into a power purchase agreement, even if the project moved ahead, was remote.

Meanwhile, Prakash Hinduja is said to have indicated his intentions to develop the 850-acre IDL land to build infrastructure for IT and BPO companies and other related purposes as this land is now surrounded by dense residential localities near Kukatpally. The shifting of the present operations outside the city is imminent as they are not suitable to be carried out inside the city.

In the past, the state government gave this land to IDL, which was later taken over by the Hinduja Group on a 99-year lease.