The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Fab City begins exports

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Thursday, Feb 26, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Fab City begins exports

First consignment worth Rs.2 crore flagged off

Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

A milestone: A technician takes a panel of soldered PV modules at the shop floor of the solar semiconductor at the Fab City at Maheshwaram in Ranga Reddy district on Wednesday. —

HYDERABAD: The first export consignment from Fab City, comprising solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, worth Rs. two crore, was flagged off by B. Sam Bob, Principal Secretary, Industries, here on Wednesday.

The event heralded commencement of commercial production at Fab City, as the consignment was headed for Germany via Mumbai. The modules were manufactured by Solar Semiconductor Pvt Ltd., which has invested more than Rs. 200 crore in phase I. It has capacity for 120 MW module production and 60 MW of PV Solar Cells.

It proposes to spend more than Rs. 400 crore on expansion in the current fiscal and envisages an overall investment of Rs. 1,100 crore over 10 years.

Mr. Sam Bob told reporters that 24 companies had been allotted land in the Fab City. They were expected to begin production in three to five years. He described Fab City as the ‘biggest SEZ for semiconductor manufacturing in the country’.

The semiconductor industry would be the next sector for which the State would be known. He said in spite of recession, the government was receiving applications for land from semiconductor units.

B.P. Acharya, Chairman and Managing Director, AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC), said the flag-off was a proud occasion. XL Telecom and Energy Ltd., Surana Ventures Ltd., SemIndia Fab Pvt. Ltd and KSK Surya Photovoltaic Ventures (P) Ltd. were expected to go on stream in four to five months.

He asserted that a world class cluster of semiconductor and PV industries would be built at the Fab City.

The market would grow rapidly as demand for PV cells was growing in Europe and the U.S. S.S.N. Prasad, director of the company, and Ravi Surapaneni, vice-president, were present.

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