APSFC will begin industrial estate work by year end

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh State Financial Corporation (APSFC) expects to begin work on the development of a multi-purpose industrial estate by the end of 2008 on 271 acres of land provided by the State Government near Jeedimetla on the outskirts of the city.

“The industrial estate will cater to the needs of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and CRISIL has been appointed to prepare a project report, which is likely to be ready in the next one to one-and-half months,” Mr A. Giridhar, Managing Director, APSFC, said while addressing the media here.

He added that as per estimates around Rs 80 crore will be required for the development of the land which has an asset value of approximately Rs 1,000 crore.

The Corporation expects to get subsidy from the Central Government for the development of the estate. Mr Giridhar also said that Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has agreed to provide Rs 100 crore loan or pick up equity in the proposed industrial estate.

“The work on the Corporation’s building in the Financial District is also underway and we expect it to be completed this year. Also there will be a provision for sharing space with other financial institutions,” he said.

The Corporation has also undertaken construction of a tower with an investment of Rs 20 crore in Visakhapatnam and has received the approval from the Board for the project.

Mr Giridhar said that APSFC hopes to cash in on opportunities being presented because of the development of the various special economic zones in the State.

APSFC during the current financial year expects to provide minimum sanctions to the tune of Rs 1,250 crore, a 25 per cent growth over the previous financial year. It expects profits to increase by around 15 per cent to touch Rs 100 crore by the end of the current fiscal as compared to Rs 90 crore recorded for the financial year ended March 31, 2008.

He said that last year out of the total sanctions of Rs 1,005 crore the Corporation disbursed Rs 675 crore till now and the rest is expected to be distributed in the next two to three months.

Earlier, after conducting a Development Campaign, Mr Giridhar said that 80 proposals worth Rs 351.18 crore were received from new entrepreneurs.

The programme covered entrepreneurs from Rangareddy, Sangareddy, Medak and Nizamabad districts. “The proposals that came from different sectors include food products and agro based industries, drugs, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, engineering, mechanical and allied industries among others,” Mr Giridhar said.