Srei hopes to bag Hyderabad Metro Rail project

Kolkata, Jan. 18 (PTI): Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd and its consortium has been shortlisted for the mega Rs 4300 crore integrated Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) in Hyderabad."The Srei-led consortium has been shortlisted by the Andhra Pradesh government for the Hyderabad metro rail project," Srei official spokesperson said.A total of 16 bidders had submitted an _expression of interest (EoI) and the deal is likely to be finalised by the month end.According to available information, two companies have been shortlisted but no official version could be got.The Srei consortium consists of Essar Construction, Singapore Technologies and SMRT Corporation.The project will select bidder on built, operate and transfer (BOT) basis and a total 59.45 kms will be covered in the first phase.The project would take almost three years to construct and implement the first two corridors and another two years for the third corridor.As per estimates 11.11 lakh commuters would use the MRTS per day in 2008, which will increase to 12.21 lakh commuters per day by 2011.The fare for the system was fixed at Re 1 per passenger per km for an initial distance below 2 km the fare is Rs 5 per passenger.The Andhra Pardesh government had contemplated launching MRTS to overcome the increasing pressure of population and transport bottlenecks.

Aero Park proposed near Shamshabad international airport

Special CorrespondentChief Minister pledges Government's full support to the ambitious project# Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy inaugurates the conference# Awards instituted by the Society for Aerospace Quality and Reliability presented# Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy inaugurates the conference# Some 100 units are expected in the proposed park with a total investment of over Rs. 250 crores# Awards instituted by the Society for Aerospace Quality and Reliability presentedHYDERABAD: An Aero Park, catering to aerospace and aeronautics requirements, is proposed to be established near the Hyderabad International Airport under the aegis of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Small Industries Associations.This was stated by V. L. N. Reddy, president of the federation, while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a three-day international conference on "Quality and Reliability in aerospace systems and exhibition" here on Sunday.Earlier, inaugurating the meet, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy declared the Government's support to the aero park project after receiving a memorandum on the proposal. Welcoming the need for setting up the park, he said he was convinced that the Government should take the lead in this regard.Launch in a yearMr. V.L.N. Reddy said the project was expected to take off in a year's time and the details would be worked out with various government departments in about 10 days for allotment of 200 acres. Hyderabad had emerged as a major centre in the production of various components and sub-systems required for aerospace projects by more than 60 units, with an annual turnover of around Rs. 150 crores.He said that about 100 units were expected in the proposed park with a total investment of about Rs. 250-300 crores.Call to industryIn the memorandum, Mr. Reddy pointed to the huge growth opportunities for the aerospace and aeronautical industries in the country and said 70 per cent of MiG and SU-30 components and electronic sub-systems were being outsourced to industries, mostly in the State.The Chief Minister expressed confidence that the growth rate in all sectors would cross the double-digit mark in the near future and called upon the industry to be part of it. He urged more industries to set up units here.Later, he presented five awards instituted by the Society for Aerospace Quality and Reliability (SAQR).Tourism and Industries Minister J. Geetha Reddy later inaugurated an exhibition organised in connection with the event.Chief Controller (R&D), Defence Research and Development Organisation and president of the organising committee, V. K. Saraswat, said innovation would play a vital role for future systems, which would be required to have zero defect and least manual inspection.Prahlada, Chief Controller (R& D), DRDO, welcomed. Rajendra Prasad, chairman of the committee, spoke.

Metro development authority set to replace HUDA

Special CorrespondentChief Minister directs officials to work out details such as powers of new body# Decision emerges from review meet chaired by YSR# Formal announcement likely soon# To begin with, the metropolitan area will be extended up to Outer Ring RoadHYDERABAD: The Government is proposing to constitute a higher city planning body, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority replacing the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority to ensure proper growth of the twin cities and peripheral areas.A decision in this regard was taken at a review meeting on urban planning chaired by Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy at the Secretariat here on Monday. It was attended by Municipal Administration Minister K. Ranga Rao and top officials of the department. Dr. Reddy asked officials to work out details, including powers and functions to be allotted to the new body. The Government is expected to announce the constitution of the new body soon.`Special efforts needed'The meeting felt such a body was required as Hyderabad has become a mega city like Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai in terms of the extent of the area under its jurisdiction and population. "It needs special efforts to see that there is systematic growth and civic amenities are provided accordingly.Metropolitan development authorities have already been formed for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata," Mr. Ranga Rao said. S. P. Singh, Principal Secretary, Municipal Adminitration, told The Hindu later that the under the proposal, assets of the HUDA, its establishments and staff would be shifted to the new body which would have more powers and functions in dealing with the "phenomenal growth" of the urban agglomeration.Initially, the plan was to extend the metropolitan area up to the Outer Ring Road presently under implementation.Mr. Singh said relevant legislations such as the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad Act and the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act would be amended suitably to facilitate the constitution of the "higher body."

Aztec Software to invest Rs 50 crore in Hyderabad

Our Regional Bureau / Hyderabad January 17, 2006
Bangalore-based Aztec Software will be investing Rs 50 crore in Hyderabad in the next three-four years.
The product engineering company is targeting a headcount of 1,500 in Hyderabad during the same period and may also set up a campus in the city in the near future.
Addressing the media, Srinivasan Chandrasekar, senior vice-president and head of India business, Aztec Software, said, “At present, we have a 250-seat centre in Hyderabad but we plan to have 1,500 people on our rolls in the city in the next three-four years. We will be investing Rs 50 crore for this purpose.”
With regard to setting up of a campus, Chandrasekar said that the company was looking at it but nothing had been finalised as yet.
Aztec Software employs close to 2,000 people globally and is looking at doubling the number within the next three-four years. The company may also look at the inorganic route to fuel its growth strategy.
According to V Chandrasekaran, chief executive officer and managing director of Aztec Software, “We have grown by 100 per cent this year and hope to continue with the growth momentum.”
“We will also be adding to our technology offerings by entering the wireless and embedded technologies space,” he added. Aztec Software’s service offerings include software product engineering, testing, quality engineering, and implementation engineering, with a technology focus on data management, web services, security and identity management etc.
The company earned revenues of $11.7 million in the third quarter of this financial year.
R&D as product engineering market was expected to grow to around $12 billion by 2010 and Aztec was looking at grabbing a significant portion of this pie, Chandrasekaran said.

Huda may double land service fees

Hyderabad, Jan. 17: The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority is all set to enhance the fees collected with regard to formation of layouts and construction of buildings, increasing the burden on the average property-buyer. Officials said that Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy gave the go-ahead to Huda’s proposals during his meeting on Monday with officials of the municipal administration and urban development department and Huda. The Chief Minister approved the setting up of the Hyderabad Metro Development Authority during this meeting.
Officials secured Dr Reddy’s approval to enhance development charges both for land and built-up area. Officials are working out new rates, which could be at least double the existing rates. Officials told this correspondent that the Chief Minister did not specify the quantum of increase. Sources indicated that the development charges for land would be made above Rs 300 per square metre (sqm) and that of built-up area to Rs 100-Rs 125 per sqm. Sources said the officials were also considering increase in the processing fee of Rs 5 per sqm but no final decision had been taken yet.
Currently, Huda collects a maximum of Rs 125 per sqm towards development charges for land and Rs 40 per sqm for built-up area. “It will work out to be Rs 12.5 per square feet (sft) and Rs 4 per sft respectively. Builders have been collecting Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per sft for apartments,” the officials are believed to have told the Chief Minister.
Huda vice-chairman and managing director Jayesh Ranjan told this correspondent that the increase would not be across the board. It would vary from panchayats in Huda limits to municipal areas and those falling in MCH limits. Mr Rajan said that the hike could not wait till the formation of the HMDA. “They are two separate things. It will take some time for HMDA to materialise as it requires an amendment to the Act. We will go ahead with enhancement of development fees,” Mr Rajan said. “The rates have remained unchanged for more than a decade and we can see how the land rates have shot up,” Huda chairman D. Sudheer Reddy said.

Government allots land to 11 IT companies

Six firms may create job opportunities for 21,000 in HydOur Regional Bureau / Hyderabad January 11, 2006The Andhra Pradesh government has allotted 65 acres of land to six IT companies in the proposed software SEZ at Popalguda near Hyderabad.Apart from this, the government has allotted 10 acres of land to Zen Technologies Limited in the hardware park near the upcoming international airport. Similarly, the state government has given 13 acres of land to five companies in Visakhapatnam.Disclosing this here today, Ratna Prabha, secretary, IT & communications, said the MoUs with all these companies would be signed on the basis of their proposed investment and employment potential.The companies that have secured land to set up their own facilities in Hyderabad include Cbay Systems (India) Private Limited, Patni Computer Systems Private Limited, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Sonata Software Limited, DQ Entertainment Limited and Conexant.Patni Computers, which has promised to provide over 10,000 jobs with a proposed investment of Rs 160 crore at its Hyderabad facility, has got 30 acres while six companies have got land ranging between three acres and 11 acres.According to Ratna Prabha, the combined investment proposed by these six companies in Hyderabad is Rs 405 crore while the projected employment figure is about 21,000.The land allotted to companies in Vizag include IIC Systems Private Limited, IIC Technologies Limited, Metaminds Software Solutions Private Limited and Infotech Enterprises Limited. The combined investment proposed by these five companies is Rs 42.9 crore and the projected number of jobs is 1,300, the IT secretary said.

AP to setup 1200cr hardware park

AFTER years of focus on software services and ITES companies, the State Government is now turning attention to the hardware sector. The State Government has identified 1,200 acres of land for promoting the hardware sector to woo companies, along with plans to locate few special economic zones for IT companies. The Chief Minister Dr.Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, said this separate facility would be complemented with support infrastructure that would attract companies to look at Andhra Pradesh for setting up hardware facilities. Speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day Gitex expo, the fifth edition of the flagship IT event here today, Dr Reddy said the State believes that its focus on strengthening infrastructure such as airport, outer ring road and creation of special zones while providing dedicated supply of power, would help woo more companies and thereby help the State scale up from the current fifth slot in overall IT and ITES exports. The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has initiated work on the Rs 3,000-crore outer ring road project, and work on the satellite townships would begin shortly. This, coupled with the focus on strengthening the manpower base, would be a compelling proposition for IT companies. The ongoing initiatives will be complemented by an international airport and a Metro Rail System, to be completed within 3-4 years, making Hyderabad an ideal destination for both software and hardware. Even though the State churns out a large number of engineers and is a base for talent pool, all of them are not industry ready. This calls for special focus on fine-tuning their skills. The Jawahar Knowledge Centres seek to bridge this gap. IBM has also partnered with the Jawahar Knowledge Centres providing software and tools and valuable inputs and the contributions of companies like Satyam Computer Services Ltd, in reaching out education, and also locating remote processing centres in noteworthy. "We expect soon other companies would follow suit," he said....

Patni’s Rs 500cr facility for city

Hyderabad, Jan. 11: Patni Computer Systems Ltd. will be setting up a campus in Hyderabad to expand its telecommunications software, and other verticals, development, Neeraj Gupta, head of Patni’s telecom business unit, said on Wednesday. Speaking to this newspaper after signing an MoU with the State government for the campus, Mr Gupta said Patni Computer Systems would be investing Rs 500 crores in the Hyderabad operations in a phased manner.
The State government has allocated 30 acres of land for Patni’s campus at Pappalguda outside Hyderabad. “Patni currently has 250 people at the Hyderabad centre, following the acquisition of Cymbal Corporation in November 2004. Cymbal had a strong presence in the telecommunications space, and development centres in Hyderabad and Pune. We have completed the integration of Cymbal’s operations with Patni,” Mr Gupta said.
Patni Computer Systems had acquired Cymbal Corporation, of which Mr Gupta had been CEO, in November 2004, for US $68 million. While Patni paid $35 million in cash on the date of acquisition, $33 million is to be paid over three years based on meeting projected revenue and profit targets. “The Hyderabad centre of Patni will focus on the niche telecommunications software, but we will be setting up services for other verticals as well.”

AP wants to pip Bangalore in race for more IT exports

Hyderabad, Jan. 11: Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy on Wednesday exhorted software exporters from Andhra Pradesh to catch up with their Karnataka counterparts. Speaking at the inauguration of the Gitex India 2006 technology exhibition here, Dr Reddy said, “The target for 2006 is to better 65 per cent growth in IT exports from the State that we had last fiscal. The target this year should be 70 per cent.”
“And if we fail to achieve that,” Dr Reddy said, turning to minister of IT and mines, Sabita Indra Reddy, secretary K. Ratna Prabha and Satyam Computer Services Ltd. chairman, B. Ra-malinga Raju, “our endeavour would have failed.”
Software companies in the State would indeed require some hard work to play catch-up with Karnataka, given that Karnataka recorded exports of Rs 28,000 crores in 2004-05, compared to AP’s Rs 8,270 crores. Apart from Hyderabad, Dr Reddy has also been promoting so-called “Tier II” cities like Vizag, Vijayawada and Nellore among the technology industry. The strategy ap-pears to have found takers, with seven companies, who signed MoUs with the State government on Wednesday, planning to set up units in Vizag.
A total of 16 IT companies, including Patni Computer Systems, Intelligroup, and Cognizant have signed MoUs with the government. The 16 companies would be investing Rs 657 crores in their proposed campuses, creating jobs for 34,417 people. Apart from this, Dr Reddy said plans were afoot to set up a 1200 acre hardware SEZ for attracting investments from the hardware majors. According to him, “The hardware sector was neglected till now, but with the SEZ we hope to fulfil the dem-ands of hardware companies.”
Meanwhile, Satyam with exports of Rs 1821 crore in 2004-05, Wipro Ltd. (Rs 972 crore) and Microsoft India (Rs 802 crore) were awarded for being the top three exporters in the IT sector instituted by the State government. The fifth edition of Gitex India 2006 includes a consumer electronics and technology exhibition for the public. In an effort to encourage more participation, the State government has offered a four per cent VAT refund to the ex-hibitors, which can be passed on to consumers, the organisers said.

Inner Ring Road constructed by Dubai based firm

New company formed in AP to handle the infrastructure and new developments.
The Infrastructure Corporation of Andhra Pradesh
http://www.incap.co.in

Adidas's Rs 5 bn unit in AP to create 40,000 jobs

Apache Footwear Limited, a China-based authorised manufacturer of Adidas sports shoes, will set up a Rs 500-crore (Rs 5 billion) manufacturing facility in Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh. In a step towards this direction, Apache signed a memorandum of understanding in Hyderabad on Friday with the Andhra Pradesh government in the presence of state Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Oscar Fernandes, and Apache chairman Johnson Tsai.The facility is expected to create jobs for 40,000 women workers. Speaking on the ocassion state Major Industries Ministries J Geeta Reddy said, "Apache has selected Andhra Pradesh as its preferred location for establishment of its unit as the state government has extended incentives, concessions and wholehearted support for the venture." Apache Footwear produces 12 million pairs of sports shoes annually. The company employs nearly 19,000 people at its two manufacturing facilities in China. For the last two years, Apache Footwear has been ranked No 1 company globally in quality and key performance indicators awarded by Adidas. Herzogenaurach, Germany-based Adidas is placed second in the world sporting goods market. The foreign investment involved in the Andhra Pradesh facility would be the equivalent of Rs 500 crore, which would be used mainly to develop a world-class production facility on par with all international Adidas shoe-manufacturing factories. The estimated production will be one million pairs per month in varying sizes in the first year of production. The company plans to double its production capacity and workforce. The state government has agreed to subsidise the training for workers who belong to Andhra Pradesh at Rs 1,000 per worker per month for a period of one year.This project, which would be developed on a 314-acre site leased by the government as a sector-specific special economic zone for footwear with all infrastructure facilities, would create employment for weaker sections such as Dalits, Adivasis and other backward classes.

Birlasoft to launch $7 m new Hyderabad facility next month

HYDERABAD, JAN 3: Birlasoft, the global technology services division of the $1.2 billion CK Birla group, has announced that it will launch a 700-seat development facility in Hyderabad in February 2006 at an estimated cost of $7 million.
This is part of the $20 million expansion plan which has witnessed one new centre each coming up in Noida (near Delhi) in October 2004, and in Bangalore in October 2005. More development centres are in the pipeline, the company said in a release here.
Kamal Mansharamani, CEO, said: "The establishment of new centres stems from our commitment to build Birlasoft into a major player in the IT services and solutions space. We plan to ramp up our staff strength to 5,000 by end 2006. We are looking at further expansion in existing and new geographies and are not averse to inorganic growth."
Interestingly, the company has been recruiting IT professionals from colleges in and around Hyderabad for the last two years. However, with the new facility, the company has decided to cast its net wide and tap IT talent from universities and colleges in tier II cities like Warangal, Vizag, Vijayanagaram, Kakinada Vijayawada and Guntur etc.
Moreover, freshers will constitute half the staff strength.
Besides, professionals working in other Birlasoft facilities also may have the option of relocating to Hyderabad, the company said.
"Birlasoft recognises Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh as hubs of hitech competence. Our new facility will be involved in cutting edge technology work. The facility will cater to all our business lines like GE, ESG, FSG, SAP practice etc," said Mr Mansharamani

Conexant to invest $250 mn in five years

Hyderabad January 06, 2006
Plans to set up a campus in Hyderabad
Conexant Systems Inc, a provider of semiconductor solutions for broadband communications and digital home, will be investing more than $250 million in India over the next five years. The investment will comprise expenses for payroll, capital equipment and R&D facilities. The $720- million company is planning to set up a campus in Hyderabad and will be making some announcement in this regard shortly. Addressing the media, Dwight W Decker, chairman and chief executive officer of Conexant Systems, Inc, said, “We plan to expand our commitment to this region as we continue to build a foundation for future revenue growth. In calendar year 2005, we increased our engineering headcount in India to 775 and this year we plan to grow to 1,200. Within the next five years, we expect our product development team in India to grow to more than 2,000.” Conexant has around 2,400 employees globally and is headquartered in California. In India, the company has an engineering presence in Hyderabad, Noida, Bangalore and Pune. Personnel in these facilities work for various business units like broadband media processing, broadband access, universal and voice access and wireless networking. The Hyderabad team, with 175 engineers, focuses on VLSI (very large scale integration) and embedded software design. The Noida team, with 400 people, works on next-generation embedded software and semiconductor solutions for digital television set-top boxes, wireless networking and network management products. The Bangalore team, with 75 people, is focused on design, development and test of hardware solutions for each of the company’s business units. The Pune team, with around 125 engineers, specialises in the design of highly complex VLSI Systems-on-a-Chip (SoC). “We are able to significantly increase our engineering bandwidth for a fraction of what it would cost in India. This helps us meet our operating-expense targets and improve profitability too,” Decker added.

Developments near Kukatpally, Hyd

The contours of Kukatpally on the city suburbs appears set for a major change with Madhucon Projects proposing a multiplex theatre, 4-star hotel and a shopping mall here.According to a statement issued by the company here on Saturday, an agreement has been signed with Andhra Pradesh State Housing Board for developing a housing-cum-commercial project in a site spread over 9.04 acres.The land is on prime location on the Mumbai National Highway NH-9 and opposite to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University.Madhucon propose to develop deluxe residential apartments and a shopping mall apart from a 4-star hotel and multiplex theatre. The project cost is estimated to be over Rs. 175 crores, the press release added.

Fujitsu in Hyderabad

Japanese IT giant Fujitsu is looking for a massive investment in India, both, to market its products and to set up call centres and offshore development centres across the country.
Choi Chee Kong, Fujitsu Asia regional regroup senior vice president, talking to newsmen in Bangalore, declined to indicate the exact quantum of investment, but drew a parallel to an investment of $20 million in China planned for the next two years on platform development programme.
"The investment could be similar to it as we plan large investment in such developing markets," he said, adding that India is considered a major developing centre.
He, however, said the investment figures mentioned for China was outside the investments that could plough into offshore development centres.
He said many Fujitsu group companies were eyeing India for investment in offshore development and call centres. Recently a team had went round the country looking at investment opportunities. A decision would be announced soon, he added.
According to a company official, the first development centre would be set up in Hyderabad by the middle of next year with a seating capacity of nearly 2000. Fujitsu also has a partner in Pune.
Other cities, including Bangalore, Gurgaon and Chennai, were also in the investment net of the company.
Kong, who announced the setting up of the Bangalore office to further strengthen Fujitsu's operations in India, said the company aimed to sell servers to the tune of $12 million over the next 12 months.
The company aimed to garner 5 per cent market share within three years and that would amount to around $60 million, he added.
Besides local enterprise, Fujitsu was looking at selling its servers to multinationals and Japan-based companies setting shop in India.

BITS in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: The Birla Institute of Technological Sciences (BITS) that runs the sought-after technological institutions at Pilani and Goa will have its third campus at Hyderabad. A team directors related to academics and administration at BITS Pilani is visiting the city on January 4 to discuss with the Government the modalities of establishment of the institute. Allocation of land and other related aspects would come up for discussion at the meeting. "We are committed to establishing the campus at Hyderabad and things are positively moving ahead," said S. Venkateswaran, Vice Chancellor BITS. Land identified He told The Hindu that the campus would be a full-fledged one on the lines of the one in Pilani. "It's going to be a large project," he said. Sources said the Government had identified two chunks of land of which one is near Shamshabad. Each piece is about 200 acres and the visiting team would also be given the choice of searching other locations if the identified pieces of land were not found to their liking. Sources said the Government was keen to offer the land free of cost, given the wide benefits that would accrue from the technological campus, but BITS reportedly declined the offer and said it was ready to pay the cost. According to Prof. Venkateswaran, the offer came from the Government itself and Chief Minister Y. S. Rajashekhara Reddy was very particular about its establishment. That he is very keen on the projects stems from the reports sent to BITS offering concessions and total support from the State Government. Craze for BITS The reason for choosing Hyderabad is not only the total support extended by the Government but also the craze for BITS education among Telugus. Incidentally, till BITS came up with its own entrance examination last year students from the State literally dominated grabbing a major share of seats at the Pilani campus. Prof. Venkateswaran said the education offered by BITS was very good and unique and their effort was to bring in the maximum number of students under their fold.

New 5 star hotel in Hyd

A new 5 star hotel in Hyd (don't know where in hyderabad)
The Rs 250-crore five-star hotel project of The Park Hotel at Hyderabad would be ready by 2008. Announcing this here while inaugurating its multi-cuisine restaurant Vista, Subrata Majumdar, general manager, The Park Hotel, said the 10-floor hotel would have 250 rooms. Three floor of the hotel would be meant for commercial purposes. The Park had invested Rs 90 lakh to set up Vista, which has an imported buffet display with a Swiss induction heating system, he said. “Within a couple of months, we would open another restaurant with an investment of about Rs 50 lakh. This will take the total number of our restaurants to 4 including one bar,” Majumdar, said. The Park is expecting a turnover of Rs 7-8 crore through the restaurant ....

HICC by Emaar is open now

Hyderabad, which is fast-emerging as a convention destination in the country, will have another feather in its cap from next week when the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, a world-class facility for hosting global conferences, will be formally inaugurated.
"Before the formal inauguration scheduled for next week, we already have bookings for 17 national and international conventions to be held in 2006," HICC general manager Philip Lagon told PTI in Hyderabad Wednesday.
HICC will host the celebrations of the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas between January 7-9 in which over 600 delegates from different parts of the world will participate.
Hyderabad is the best place to have the facility, with built data cost of Rs 300 crore, in view of equal distance from Dubai and Singapore/Malaysia, the friendly weather and growth value of our economic assests, Lagon said.
HICC also has a five-star hotel -- Novatel -- with about 300 rooms, which will operate as an independent business entity.
HICC's main conference hall can accommodate over 6,000 with a pre-function foray area of 6,500 sq mt. It also has an inbuilt projection screen of 18/16 ft with state of the art accoustics.
Besides, there is ample space for front office registration terminals, a back office with 16 workstations with attached kitchen, pantry and two additional rooms.
The other facilities at the convention centre are Internet cafes, ATMs, shops, five-star hotel, pool, restaurants, bars, car parking for 1,000 cars, loading docks and power back-up generation facility, among others.
HICC is a joint venture of Dubai-based MR Partners and Andhra Pradesh Infrastructre Investment Corporation.

Reliance seeks 25,000 acres of land, Shamshabad

HYDERABAD: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Thursday sought allotment of a massive extent of 25,000 acres of land near Shamshabad airport here for development of a special economic zone for petrochemicals in what appeared to be a quid pro quo for the State Government's demand.
The demand, articulated by Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy at a meeting with RIL executives was that Reliance should fully meet the demands of Andhra Pradesh before supplying gas from its recent offshore find near Kakinada to other States.
RIL's counter offer caught the Government off guard. Sources said the Chief Minister could not respond straightaway without considering various implications of alienating such a large chunk of land to a single party. However, he is stated to have promised the RIL that he will "consider the plea".
Legislation passed by the Assembly in its just-concluded session allows any private party to develop an SEZ, claim subsidies and sell the developed plots to individual units which, however, are to be cleared through single-window facility.
The Chief Minister asked P. M. S. Prasad, president, Oil & Gas wing of RIL, to ensure gas supply for domestic, industrial and commercial use in the State by June 2008 after completing pipeline network. Official sources said he requested Reliance to supply LPG for domestic purpose at Rs. 240 a cylinder.
Mr. Prasad told the Chief Minister that sufficient gas was available in the Reliance wells, and that only surplus gas would be taken outside after meeting Andhra Pradesh needs. RIL was laying a 48-inch pipeline from Kakinada to Hyderabad which would be extended up to Jamnagar.
The trunk line would run for 565 km in the State, covering seven districts.
Gas available
Mr. Prasad said Reliance was interested in taking up city gas distribution projects by developing distribution network in districts and cities like Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Kakinada, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Medak, Warangal and Nalgonda in the first phase. As part of the company's bio-diesel project, one lakh-tonne capacity would be created at Kakinada by 2011 and jatropha plantations raised by it.