AP govt lays foundation stone for aviation SEZ

The Andhra Pradesh government laid the foundation stone for an aerospace and aviation special economic zone (SEZ) on the inaugural day of the India Aviation 2008, the first-ever civil aviation expo, which began here today.

Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) will be the first company to set up shop in the SEZ, for which the government has allotted 50 acre. TASL will invest about Rs 8,000 crore in the proposed facility.

The Centre has given its nod for setting up the SEZ in an extent of 250 acre of the 351 acre earmarked by the state government for the aerospace and allied sectors at Aadibhatla village in Rangareddy district, adjacent to the state capital.

According to chairman and managing director of the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation BP Acharya, Tata group chairman Ratan Tata had recently written to Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy expressing his interest in setting up a manufacturing unit at the aerospace SEZ. The state government agreed to the proposal and allotted 50 acre to TASL. Several local units will also work in unison for various products and services in the aerospace SEZ.

The chief minister said the state had identified aviation as a key driver of growth. Apart from facilitating the first greenfield airport in the country at Hyderabad, it has reduced the sales tax on the aviation turbine fuel to four per cent. It is also expanding the non-metro airports.