The Hindu : Volkswagen deal in final stage: CM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 14, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Volkswagen deal in final stage: CM

By Our Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM, FEB. 13. The Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Friday said the proposal for setting up a car manufacturing unit by the German auto major, Volkswagen, at Parawada "is almost through.''

After reviewing the development in the district with the Collector, Sunil Sharma, the Municipal Commissioner, Navin Mittal, and other senior officials at the INS Dega airport during a transit halt, Mr. Naidu said: "The deal is in the final stage.''

He said establishment of the car factory would be a milestone for industrial development in and around Visakhapatnam, and expressed confidence that the German comapny would make a formal announcement soon.

The world's leading car cable manufacturing unit -- Yazaki of Japan -- had sent a high-level delegation to the Special Economic Zone in Duvvada to explore the possibility of setting up a unit.

Mr. Naidu said the modernisation of the airport to enable landing of wide-bodied aircraft with night landing facility, establishment of the apparel park and Pharma City, promotion of Araku coffee on an area of one lakh hectares and extending 100 per cent area in the city under underground drainage project at a cost of Rs. 100 crores were going ahead as per schedule.

Replying to a question, the Chief Minister said he had already dashed off a letter to the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, on the need to bail out the Bharat Heavy Plate and Vessels Limited (BHPV) and announced that he would work out a plan to save the public sector unit from getting referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction.

On the High Court's stay on the laying of Rs. 40-crore four-lane road between Visakhapatnam and Bhimunipatnam, he merely said that the road widening work would be speeded up.

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Andhra Pradesh