Suzlon sews up land deals for SEZ

A special economic zone (SEZ) hosting a windmill gearbox and a stator assembly plant being set up on the outskirts of Coimbatore by wind energy major, Suzlon Energy, will start operations by the beginning of 2008, much ahead of its earlier target of 2008-end.

It is learnt that the land acquisition for the facility is virtually complete following a few months' delay, and the company is now planning to create the requisite infrastructure at the site.

In the first week of April, Suzlon completed the process of getting 250 acre of contiguous land from over 50 farmers in the area, sources close to the development said. Though it came at a price with land rates zooming above the prevailing market rates, often around Rs 50 lakh per acre.

Hansen Transmissions, the fully owned subsidiary of Suzlon Energy, is setting up the gearbox manufacturing plant at an investment of ¤170 million (Rs 940 crore).