Global e-commerce major Amazon has said it will build a 1.6-million square feet centre in Hyderabad for its biggest facility outside of its corporate headquarters in Seattle.
The move comes two weeks after its Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos announced investment of $2 billion in India.
The Hyderabad facility, which is expected to come up on 10 acres at Gachibowli (which has IT giants like Microsoft and CA Tech), will house 12,500 employees and be ready by 2018. The company, with offices in nearby Madhapur, is currently applying for statutory permissions such as fire and environmental clearances to begin work on the project.
“We are waiting for statutory permissions. The moment we receive them we will begin work. We hope to complete the project by 2018. It will be taken up in phases,” John Schoettler, Director (Global - Real Estate and Facilities) of Amazon, who led a delegation which met Telangana IT Minister K Taraka Rama Rao, told
Confirming the development, a senior Government official told this paper that the State has given a few permissions like fire. “It will come up in 10 acres and we hope it will boost the Brand Hyderabad. We have assured all the help from our side,” the official said.
It is however, not clear whether the existing office also will move into the upcoming facility. John Schoettler visit to India assumes significance, especially in the backdrop of the big ticket investments announced by Jeff Bezos.