APSEZ may get logistics park: APIIC

Visakhapatnam: The Visakha Container Terminal can set up a logistics park in the Andhra Pradesh Special Economic Zone at Atchyutapuram in Visakhapatnam district, as land and other requisites will be provided by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC), Mr B.P. Acharya, Chairman and Managing Director, has suggested.

He made the suggestion at a review meeting in the APSEZ after visiting some of the units in the SEZ, Jawahar Pharma City and the Brandix Apparel Park.

Mr Acharya observed that Visakha container terminal had all the requisite facilities for the exporters in the APSEZ and others, and they should patronise the terminal here instead of routing their cargoes through Chennai or Ennore.

Mr Acharya said the scenario was bright for the APSEZ, the pharma city and the Brandix apparel park. “Four units have started operations in the APSEZ and four more are under construction.

In the pharma city too, 14 units have gone into production and 13 more getting ready. Some of the units in the Brandix apparel park are ready and already 3,000 have got employment,” he said.

Pilkington unit begins trial production: Pilkington Automotive India Pvt Ltd, which set up a unit to manufacture windscreens for vehicles started trial production on Thursday.

Expressing happiness at the early construction of the unit, Mr Acharya advised the management to provide jobs to the locals to the maximum extent.

Mr Stephan Rosebrock, Director, said the unit would manufacture roughly half a million windscreens per annum and initially it would cater only to the export market and subsequently the windscreens would be supplied to the OEMs in India. He said roughly Rs 80 crore would be invested in the first phase on the unit here.

Mr K.V.V. Sathi Reddi, Engineer-in-Chief, APIIC, said the APSEZ here had come up in a very satisfactory manner and all the infrastructural facilities were in place.

“It is the largest multi-product SEZ in the country and one of the best developed,” he said.

Mr Sushil Mulchandani, the Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the Visakha container terminal, Mr P. Eshwar Reddy, Chief Executive Officer of the Ramky Pharma City (India) Ltd, Mr Ch.V.V.S. Prasad, Zonal Manager (Projects), APIIC, and others participated in the review meeting.