VIZAG RUSHES TO GET MARUTI INTERESTED

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Nov 28, 2012: The government is moving quickly to get Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) to invest in Andhra Pradesh after getting a hint from a top official of the company.

A team of officials from the state government’s investment and infrastructure development department will visit the corporate office of Maruti Suzuki in New Delhi in December to urge the automobile giant’s top management to consider Vizag for setting up a regional stockyard and for other investments in the region.

The move comes after MSIL chief operating officer S.Y. Siddiqui, during his visit to the Gitam University last week, showed interest in setting up one of the five regional stockyards, planned in various parts of the country, in Vizag.

MSIL has already zeroed in on Bengaluru, Nagpur, Ranchi and Siliguri to set up their stockyards and is yet to finalise the fifth location. Mr Siddiqui had promised to take up the location issue with the top management soon.

“I am glad to know that Maruti is interested to invest in Vizag. It may generate job opportunities for locals. In the second week of December, a team from our department will meet the MSIL management to take it forward,” infrastructure and ports minister Mr Ganta Srinivasa Rao told this newspaper.

The minister, in a letter to Mr Siddiqui on Wednesday, also urged him to consider Vizag for setting up a car manufacturing unit given its sea and air connectivity and the availability of vast government lands, SEZs, apparel parks and many IT companies.

The minister added that a “health city” was also being developed and plots were allotted to different companies to set up hospitals. On the education sector, nearly four universities were functioning in Vizag, which would help the staff of MSIL if a manufacturing unit was established.

“Many mega housing projects taken up by VUDA and other companies on PPP base are in the finishing stages. I hope keeping all these factors into consideration MSIL will come forward to invest in this region, especially by setting up a manufacturing unit,” said the minister.