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In the notified backward region of South Coastal Andhra Pradesh, south India's largest operational private Multi-Product Special Economic Zone with a free trade warehousing zone and a contiguous Domestic Tariff Zone is shaping up at full pelt.
Called Sri City and spread over 6,000 acres — with 3,800-acre SEZ and another 2,200-acre Domestic Tariff Zone (DTZ) – this multi-product SEZ and industrial zone providing captive market for overseas companies would house high-tech industries such as aerospace, precision engineering, biotech/pharma, automobiles, instrumentations, telecommunications and logistics and warehousing, besides traditional ones like leather products, electronics, hardware, apparel and gems and jewellery.
Integrated model
Interacting with a group of journalists from the Capital on a site visit sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, Sri City (P) Ltd Managing Director, Mr Ravindra Sannareddy, said the venture has proved “conducive to flexible business plans since SEZ plus DTZ in one place gives the gain of integrated operations and business models entailing domestic, exports and trading.”
Even as the City is slated to house 300 plus SEZ units, adjoining DTZ too estimates to rope in 100 plus units
While units operational, units under construction and units that have signed agreements so far in the Sri City SEZ number 25 with estimated investment of Rs 740 crore and employment potential of 8,300, Mr Sannareddy said with an eventual investment of Rs 1,200 crore in the next couple of years, Sri City and its units would generate one lakh direct and 75,000 indirect employment.
Similarly, he said, in the DTZ the total estimated investment by units till date is Rs 520 crore with employment potential of 3,850, given the various stages in which the 15 units have pitched tents.
Global presence
Some of the global big names such as Italy-based VRV Group (sophisticated pressure vessels and cryogenic tanks), US-based Venture Automotive (auto components), Bahrain-based BFG (composite products for the railway coaches), Japanese Kobelco (construction machinery) and coffee vending machine maker LavAzza have already established their units here, he added.
Asked how he could reconcile to the ultimate potential and the slow progress in establishment of units here, the Sri City chief said that there are two-three factors or facilities which the units seek that determine the success ratio. Admitting that units demand 130 MW of power stations overnight which is impossible, he said that it is like a baby asked to run when he is crawling and yet to walk.
“Had the State Government or some private developers installed this substation, we would have greeted the foreign investors, but at the moment we could not do so,” he said realistically.
Job creation
“Since success is measured on the number of jobs we generate, not on the number of industries we lure, we have set in the first couple of years to create 10,000 jobs which we are close to and in next three years 30,000, taking 50,000 job creation in the first five years,” he said.
The initial years were focused on creating infrastructure and proof of facilities, he said adding that “we now convert the league into business by offering the best facilities inside the city”.
Pointing out that Sri City is concerned about developing and integrating the skill set of the local people to suit the needs of the industries, Mr Sannareddy said this was done even before project launch of the Sri City by setting up the Sri City Academy in January 2006.
He said through this academy over 3,000 local were trained and 1,750 placed in different chores ranging from computers to plumbing and embroidery with salaries ranging from Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000 a month. It has also signed a MoU with IL&FS Cluster Initiative Development Ltd in last October to establish a Skill Development Institute.
With the developer keen on providing benefits to the locals, he said out of the 68 km of internal road planned in Sri City, 22 km have been completed and many of the local villages now have better access.
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