Gujarat attracts investors from Andhra

Hyderabad: The industries department of Gujarat has organised a business meeting with industry leaders in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Briefing the companies about the underlying investment potential in Gujarat and the advantages that accrue to the investors, Saurabh Patel, state minister for industry, finance and energy, said the state had developed a land bank of 25,000 hectare during the last 25 years and had planned to develop another 25,000 hectare over the next three years.

Patel was part of a government delegation from Gujarat, including its principal secretary (industries) Gauri Kumar, which was in Hyderabad to organise a roadshow on the fourth edition of the ‘Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit’ to be held in Ahmedabad on January 12-13, 2009.

Stating that the focus sectors identified for the 2009 summit included engineering and automotive, IT and biotechnology, chemicals and petrochemicals, oil and gas, urban infrastructure, food and agri-related businesses, Patel said the state had proposed to develop 3,000 kilometre new roads, tenders for which had already been called for.

“On the petrochemicals front, the state is laying a 2,200-kilometre long gas pipeline. When the project is completed by 2010, all the district headquarters in Gujarat will be covered under gas grids. Initially, we plan to supply piped gas to around 25 small cities in the state by March 2009, besides CNG as fuel to vehicles within a 50-kilometre radius of the gas grids,” he added.

He said the Bombardier Group's metro coach factory in Vadodara in the state was slated for inauguration this month, and the first metro rail will be rolled out of Gujarat to Delhi in March 2009.

The first three editions of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit resulted in attracting business investments worth $200 billion.