Around 15 new companies can set up shop at Zydus Pharmez near Ahmedabad in the second phase of development of the pharmaceutical special economic zone(SEZ), according to a senior official in Zydus Cadila.
Zydus Infrastructure which is developing the SEZ, has applied for an expansion at the SEZ which is now spread over around 48 hectares. Pankaj Patel, chairman and managing director of Cadila Healthcare, said "Yes, we are looking at expanding the Pharmez, by close to 60 hectares. Post expansion, the size would be around 110 hectares". Around eight to nine companies are now present in the Zydus Pharmez and another 10-15 can come in with the expansion planned, he informed.
These include Fisher Scientific India, Intas Pharma, Torrent Pharma, Zydus Hospira Oncology, Piramal Pharmaceuticals Development Services among a few others. Companies are now in various stages of construction of their facilities.
The application for an expansion of the Zydus Pharmez is lying with the state government, and a final notification is likely to come in over a month's time. Patel said that the Pharmez should be running by 2012. It is estimated that around Rs 80-100 crore has already been invested by Zydus Infrastructure to develop the basic infrastructure of the SEZ, and a similar amount would be put in for the expansion.
The Zydus Pharmez is Gujarat's first pharmaceutical SEZ to be clear by the ministry of commerce and industry, government of India in 2006.
Another pharma player and India's largest Custom Research and Manufacturing Services(CRAMS) company Jubilant Organosys too is setting up two 10,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) plants each for Niacinamide and 3-Cyanopyridine at its upcoming special economic zone in Bharuch in Gujarat.