Andhra Pradesh - Projects and Development II

[upendora]

http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/...8042063770.asp

It will be better for India to start planning for a time when oil will be in limited quantity and prices far above the current level.

A good introductory article from deccanherald about the need to develop railways

[harsh1802]

HYDERABAD: Pre-historic paintings using vegetable oils were traced last month on rocks within caves in the forest near Srisailam and interior Warangal district.

They were detected by the technical staff of Archaeology Department following information by a saint and some other local tribals, Archaeology Director P. Chenna Reddy told a news conference here on Thursday.

He said the paintings included animals, fish, some geometrical designs and scenes of hunting and dancing. They were in red ochre and white pigment colours. The paintings in Akkamahadevi caves of Srisailam hill ranges were ascribed to late Mesolithic times of 3,000 BC. The other paintings on rock shelters at Narsapur and Bandal of Tadvai mandal in Warangal district were dated to megalithic times of 1,000 BC. Some of the paintings were superimposed, depicting highly developed anatomical features and curves.

The features were of early historic times. Mr. Reddy said further survey was required in these areas for more information on rock art sites and rock shelters. The department planned to videograph the rock art and preserve it for posterity.

He also said a priceless stone sculpted with Parswanatha, Mahishasuramardani and Brahma with his consort Saraswati seated on a swan was also recovered in Warangal district recently. A Buddhist settlement was found in Peddauppalam village of Rayavaram mandal in Visakhapatnam district.

The director said the ancient temple complex at Mulug Ghanpur in Warangal district would be reconstructed as part of the Kakatiya Heritage Project.

Source

[Satvahan86]

Decks cleared for Digital Entertainment City

The decks have been cleared for the proposed Digital Entertainment City, the world-class facility designed to train animation professionals in Hyderabad.

The government will finalise the partner in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) designed to initiate the Digital Entertainment City in a few weeks. Four animation training schools - Picaso, Toonz, Crux and Taksha Academy, are in the race to set up an animation training academy in Hyderabad, according to IT secretary SK Joshi. While Picaso has a tie-up with Canada based Centennial College, Taksha has an association with University of Teesside, UK.

An SPV, Hyderabad Digital Media, has been launched to create the animation city in Hyderabad. The government is looking for an Indian animation company with foreign collaboration to be a leading partner in the project.

"We are selective about the partner and we will finalise a company with foreign collaboration in the coming 10 days. We want industry players to be part of the venture and not third party companies such as real estate developers," Joshi said.

The government will take the equity partnership for the allocated land and the rest will be borne by the leading partner and other animation companies who wish to join in the project. The total outlay of the project will be about Rs 400 crore.

The 100-acre Entertainment City will house world-class infrastructure to encourage animation, gaming, television, film, multimedia, radio, music and new media. The city will also have a Digital Entertainment City Task Force (DECTF), comprising industry leaders and state government representatives.

According to estimates, a training institute with 100 animation and gaming work stations would cost around Rs 50 crore. India has around four such institutes — including the ones managed by Infosys and DQ Entertainment. However, this is reckoned to be expensive by many institutes and IT firms.

Several IT companies that are executing offshore animation and gaming projects are interested in partnering in the animation city. Featuring in this list are Wipro, DQ Entertainment, FX Labs and 7Seas Technologies.

At present, there is a huge shortage of trained professionals in animation and gaming in India. According to a Nasscom study, India will need over 3 lakh professionals in content development and animation segment by 2008 to cope with the growing demand. At present, there are only 12,000 people available in this industry.

The animation market in India is estimated at $285 million at present and is expected to touch $1 billion by 2010. This, coupled with low overhead costs, is making India a hub for outsourcing of post production work. The industry apprehensions are that a surge in demand coupled with talent crunch will lead to huge manpower costs, taking away the cost advantage that India enjoys in this segment.

According to the CII-AT Kearney study, the total cost of making a full length movie in India is around $15-25 million compared to $100-125 million in the US.

http://www.televisionpoint.com/news2...?id=1209010453

[bobbie501]

Wrong Thread Buddy Post it in Hyderabad Projects Thread in Metro Sub-Forum.By The Way Welcome to SSCI.

[Satvahan86]

Krishnapatnam Port phase I set to start in June 2008

BL reported that the first phase of the INR 10,000 crore Krishnapatnam Port is all set to begin commercial operations in June 2008, in just 18 months after the work began for the conversion of the existing minor port into a major one.

With the maritime trade witnessing significant growth and Chennai Port getting congested, Krishnapatnam Port is targeting to become a hub for containers, coal and petrochemicals.

Mr CV Rao CMD of Navayuga group said that "The port is going to be the biggest container terminal in India. It has generated interest among the industry, shipping companies and power firms. There are firm plans for generation of 12,000 MW of power in the vicinity. This includes 1,800 MW unit proposed by the group."

He added that the 5,000 acre port, with a debt equity ratio of 75:25, would start off with an initial cargo capacity of 20 million tonnes and would go up to 90 million tonnes four years later.

Mr Rao said that the Andhra Pradesh government has awarded the 50 year port project to Krishnapatnam Port Company on a build operate share transfer concession. He added that "This is going to be a shorter and better destination for iron exports from the Bellary Hospet region. The transportation to and from the port to the railway lifeline would be ensured. A 600 kilometer long railway line would be laid, covering a stretch of 114 kilometer to connect Obulavaripalem, giving access to the Chennai Gooty route of the railway network. In the short term, a 26 kilometer stretch would be completed to connect Venkatachalam on the Chennai Howrah line to coincide the launch of the port in June 2008."

http://steelguru.com/news/index/2008...June_2008.html

[Satvahan86]

Taiwan in talks with AP for 2,500 acre SEZ

By Sangeetha Chengappa

Bangalore, April 28: The Republic of China, popularly known as Taiwan, is in talks with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up a 2,500-acre SEZ, with an initial investment of $600 million.

The proposed SEZ will host businesses from diverse areas such as Information Technology, food processing and shoe manufacturing, to name a few. While capital has already been raised for the project, the Memorandum of Understanding is expected to be inked sometime next month.

Mr Andrew L.Y. Hsia, representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in New Delhi, who was in Bangalore to co-host a conference on the theme ‘Taiwan in the 21st Century’ told this correspondent that the Taiwanese are also talking to the governments of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu to set up similar SEZs there there.

Taiwanese officials are also discussing the MoU on avoidance of double taxation with India. Although both countries have reached an agreement, the MoU has not been formalised yet.

While most of Taiwan’s foreign investment, amo-unting to nearly $350 billion, have flown into China, Taiwan is now training its radar on Indian shores for fresh investments. According to Mr Hsia, China is fast losing its sheen as an investment destination for a variety of reasons, primarily the rising cost of land and labour. Besides, attractive incentives given to investors have been withdrawn and most exports from China face high tariff penalties.

Two-way trade between Taiwan and India rose to $8.7 billion last year from $4.7 billion two years ago. In January-February 2008 alone, two-way trade between the two countries registered a 70 per cent increase over over the same period last year, Mr Hsia said. India currently enjoys a trade surplus with Taiwan.

Mr Hsia said India and Taiwan complement each other as the former is rich in resources while the latter has manufacturing might.

http://www.asianage.com/presentation...-acre-sez.aspx

[harsh1802]

State plans F1 in Anantapur

Hyderabad, May 4: The Congress government has proposed to set up a Formula One race circuit in drought-stricken Anantapur district. It was the Panchayat Raj minister, Mr J.C. Diwakar Reddy, who suggested that F1 race circuit could be established in the barren lands of O.D. Cheruvu and Amadaguru mandals of the southern part of the district.

The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, told this correspondent that the project would be taken forward since farmers were willing to give land and lot of government land was also available. "It is also near the Bangalore International Airport," he said. However, Dr Reddy added that the proposal was only at a preliminary stage at present.


A few years ago, Jorang International had offered to establish a Science City in the same area and farmers had agreed to hand over their lands. However, the project was a slow-starter. Mr Diwakar Reddy has now proposed that an F1 race circuit be set up there instead. "Nowhere in the state can we acquire so much land," he said. "I admit that F1 circuit is for the rich, but thousands of local people will get employment in the ancillary units."

The Anantapur District Collector, Mr N. Sridhar, said that almost 20,000 acres of land could be acquired. "The F1 circuit would require about 10,000 acres," he said. During the previous Telugu Desam government’s reign, there was a proposal to establish an F1 race circuit near Hyderabad. The TD government even promised to allot 2,000 acres of land near Manikonda and Gopannapalli areas in the nearby Ranga Reddy district for this. The former chief minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, and actor Akkineni Nagarjuna had met F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and forwarded the proposal. But it did not work out.

Mr Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher Airlines later proposed to establish F1 race circuit near New Delhi and the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms Jayalalithaa, wanted one at Sriperambadur near Chennai. These proposals did not materialise either.

Source

[harsh1802]

Isn't the Science city project still on?

[harsh1802]

Japan to assist IIT-Medak

Hyderabad, May 4: Japan is keen to collaborate with the new Indian Institute of Technology coming up in Medak. It has also expressed its willingness to extend financial aid of up to Rs 4 crore to the institute. The United Kingdom and the United States are looking at joining hands with one of the three new IITs to be established in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan, and official sources said those countries are also likely to work with IIT-Medak.
The UK and US are to provide monetary assistance to the institute they choose to collaborate with.

Though Japan initially offered to assist the IIT to be set up in Bihar, it eventually dropped its plans in favour of Medak, citing poor law and order conditions in Bihar. The Centre had proposed to Japan the idea of forging a tie-up with the IIT in Bihar during the visit of the former Japanese prime minister, Mr Shinzo Abe, to India in August 2007. A three-member delegation including Mr Ryuji Sakaue, the head of the South-East Asian division in Japan’s ministry of foreign affairs and Mr Rites Megan, vice-president, International University of Japan, visited Medak on Friday and inspected the site in Kandi village, where the IIT is coming up on a 537-acre stretch.

The delegation later visited the temporary campus at the ordnance factory in Medak district, where classes will begin from the coming academic year. It inspected the progress of work related to the setting up classrooms, laboratories, hostels, staff quarters and other facilities. “Mr Sakaue has conveyed to us that nearly 20 top universities from Japan are keen to collaborate with the new IIT in Medak,” said Mr Ashutosh Mishra, principal secretary, higher education. “They are willing to assist the institute in research projects and other academic activities.”

He said the land acquisition process for the new IIT is at an advanced stage. “The acquisition of land will be completed in the next two weeks and we are likely to hand over the land to the Union ministry of human resources development by the end of May,” Mr Mishra said. He said a delegation from India would visit Japan in July to finalise the modalities regarding financial assistance and other collaborative initiatives offered by Japan.

The delegation will comprise Prof. M.S. Ananth, director, IIT-Medak, and Mr Sanjeev Sinha, director, UBS Investment Bank. Mr Sinha is the mediator between the Indian and Japanese governments in discussions to secure assistance for the new IITs.

Source

[harsh1802]

Top firms in race for NH9 project

Hyderabad, May 4: Construction majors such as GMR, L&T, Nagarjuna and Reliance Constructions are vying to grab the lucrative National Highway 9 expansion contract. The Centre had cleared the NH9 expansion project as part of the National Highway Development Programme phase-3 on Build-Operate-Transfer basis. Besides the Hyderabad-Vijayawada stretch, the Vijayawada-Machilipatnam stretch was also included in the programme to ensure connectivity to the upcoming Bandar Port.

Sources said the National Highways Authority of India is currently scrutinising the pre-qualification bids for the Rs 1,600-crore project and the process would be completed by the month-end. In all, 19 bidders have applied for the pre-qualification process for the Vijayawada-Hyderabad stretch (181-km) and 21 for the Vijayawada-Machilipatnam portion (64-km).

NHAI sources said the financial bids are expected to be finalised by the end of May and the agreement with the successful bidder will be signed in June. The successful bidder would be chosen on the basis of the company’s turnover, financial capacity, work experience and network, said the sources. Meanwhile, the state government has initiated the process of acquiring about 1,200 acres of land in Nalgonda and Krishna districts for the expansion of the Vijayawada-Hyderabad NH9. Besides, another 450 acres has to be acquired for the expansion of NH9 stretch between Vijayawada and Machilipatnam.

The Union Transport Secretary, Mr Brahma Dutt, visited Hyderabad recently and reviewed the project with the Transport Department principal secretary, Tishya Chatterjee, and other senior officials. He wanted the land acquisition process completed well in time so that the expansion works would not be hampered. There are 66 villages between Vijayawada and Hyderabad through which the NH9 passes and where land has to be acquired.

Revenue authorities in Nalgonda and Krishna districts completed the basic survey of land in 61 villages while the remaining steps are expected to be completed soon. "A formal notification for acquiring 1,200 acres of land will be issued soon after the survey work is completed," said a NHAI official overseeing the project. The NHAI has decided to build by-pass routes to prevent destruction of some villages on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad stretch.

Source

[Luckystreak]

Ramkay Enclave, Warangal

[harsh1802]

Wow.....tht wld be wonderful for Warangal!

Warangal might be the next emerging city.....because of its proximity to Hyderabad.

[ranga]

Originally Posted by harsh1802

Wow.....tht wld be wonderful for Warangal!

Warangal might be the next emerging city.....because of its proximity to Hyderabad.

Don't jump to conclusion. Warangal, despite well connected by rail and road is unable to attract investments either in the manufacturing or IT sector.

[harsh1802]

Originally Posted by ranga

Don't jump to conclusion. Warangal, despite well connected by rail and road is unable to attract investments either in the manufacturing or IT sector.

Sir....what part of "might" be didn't you get?

[Babji]

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/08/s...0854990800.htm

Caparo to set up bus plant in Nellore district
HYDERABAD: Caparo Group, a global group with business interests in the manufacture of steel, automotive and general engineering products, is setting up a luxury bus manufacturing plant in collaboration with South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Company.

The plant, which is due to commence production in 2009, will be located in an industrial park at Nayudupeta in Nellore district being developed by Caparo Group.

Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, along with Caparo Group officials, will lay the stone for the industrial park on Thursday. Angad Paul, Chairman of Caparo India, told reporters after a meeting with Dr. Reddy on Wednesday that Hyundai Motor Company would provide technical support so that all the government regulations concerning the supply and manufacture of luxury buses in the country were complied with.

The buses that would role out of the unit would be fitted with power and efficient Euro III/IV engines, air-wide suspension and ABS system.

cool. lets hope this plant would come up without any switching of location ...

[Euromast]

Some more

Andhra Pradesh may attract US$ 5.99 billion investments in manufacturing

Hyderabad: Caparo to lay foundation stone for Rs 3500cr Industrial Park in Nellore today.

The Andhra Pradesh government is expecting to attract investments to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore in the manufacturing sector during the current year, according to state industries principal secretary, B Sam Bob.

Bob said there was a buoyancy in the state's manufacturing sector at present with manufacturing units coming up in 10-12 special economic zones (SEZs). These SEZs were being set up for the manufacture of footwear, apparel, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, electronic hardware, paper and gems and jewellery.

"We are using the SEZs as a means to get employment in the rural areas," Bob told Business Standard, adding that the target this year was to create employment for 150,000 people.

According to the estimates of the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC), the projected investment in the 53 notified SEZs in the state is Rs 33,000 crore. The SEZs together are expected to provide direct employment to 890,000 people and indirect employment to 1.68 million persons

[Luckystreak]

Massive realestate project in Vijayawada.

129 towers coming up (43 towers in each block and 3 blocks in total).
Each tower ranging from 12-15 floors (Including the penthouses).
Inaddition, a 14 fl office block and seperate malls and mulitplexes.


StarHills


Do check out the walk-through video in the above site.

[arjun]

One more.......

[Babji]

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/14/s...1452610300.htm

Rs. 1600-cr port will give boost to development’ ONGOLE : The Rs. 16,000 crore port coming up at Motupalli-Vodarevu in Prakasam district would help the backward district grow industrially and commercially and give a boost to employment opportunities. Speaking to newspersons here on Tuesday, District Collector K Devanand sought the cooperation of all the people in acquiring 9,000 acres of land required for the purpose without any hassles expeditiously to make the dream project a reality.

The port would come up with private public participation between Motupalli and Vodarevu affectng 13 habitations. Arrangements are being made for acquiring land expeditiously by arranging attractive compensation to farmers who are losing their land. They would be paid compensation on the spot before taking possession of the land. Fishermen, who would be affected, would be rehabilitated along the coast.

Union Government will take up the project in parternship with Matrix and Rasul Kaim organisations. Land acquisition process would start from Wednesday. Matrix would acquire the land. It would open counters in the villages and take over the land after paying compensation to farmers...

Saying that the project would provide employment to thousands of technical personnel, Mr Devanand said people of the district should welcome the project and lend all their support in building the port. He pointed out that there were no industries worth mentioning except tobacco and granite in Prakasam district. The port would give an opportunity to the district to improve its trade and industries and provide employment to large number of youth. It would help Prakasam district achieve development on a par with the neighbouring Nellore, which is growing fast taking advantage of Krishnapatnam port and its proximity to Chennai, he said.

cool. its like having at least one good port in each of the coastal districts ...

[phaedrus]

East coast abuzz with activity

The East coast is buzzing with activity now. With the state government focusing on ports as another major infrastructure that can be developed jointly with private players, five ports are in the process of becoming major business hubs.
The five ports - Krishnapatnam, Gangavaram, Vodarevu, Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam - are expected to provide an unprecedented logistic support to the industrial sector in the state, particularly in locations like Nellore that are now bursting with activity.
“More ports need to come up. The concept of Way Ports that are very close to each other make transportation of goods easy for the entire country,” Capt P V K Mohan, chairman of the high-powered committee on ports, told TOI. According to him, once the ports get ready, transportation of heavy goods like steel and cement would shift to sea, leaving national highways for lighter products like FMCG goods and electronics.
Two of the five ports - Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam - are at an advanced stage of construction and would be ready for operations shortly. While a consortium led by former VisualSoft promoter D V S Raju is developing theGangavaram port with an outlay of Rs 3,500 crore, infrastructure major Navayuga group is developing the Krishnapatnam port. Incidentally, like the now operational GMRled Hyderabad international airport, the two ports too were conceived during the TDP regime. “Along with these two projects, the other three too are progressing as per schedule. Smaller ports on the East coast like Rawa, Bheemunipatnam, Kalingapatnam and Bhavanapadu would add to the series of ports we are planning,” a senior official in the government said.
A consortium led by Maytas Infra has been awarded the Machilipatnam port project while another consortium with N Prasad, former chief of pharma major Matrix, has taken up works at Nizampatnam and Vodarevu. “These are much bigger projects than an international airport. However, since they cater to the industry and not to a common man, they do not have the kind of glamour an airport has,” the official explained.
The industry, meanwhile, is waiting for the ports to become operational to cut down on the cost of raw material transportation. For instance, Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) alone is expected to save about Rs 150 crore on transportation of raw material once the Gangavarm Port becomes operational. In fact, a dedicated conveyor belt is being laid from the port to the VSP site for transporting raw material.
“Every port has something interesting to offer. Several units that depend on Chennai port have problems in plying lorries through the villages en route since the villagers tend to resist and stop the vehicles. Krishnapatnam port will not have that problem,” the official said.

source timesofindia epaper