KCR inaugurates bus manufacturing plant in Telangana

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday inaugurated a Rs.300 crore bus manufacturing plant near here. Set up by Deccan Auto Limited, it is the first bus plant to come up in the newly created state. Located at Kodakachani village in Medak district, about 40 km from Hyderabad, the plant has the capacity to produce 3,000 buses annually in the initial phase. Located in a 75-acre area, the first module has been built on 18 acres with a covered area of 200,000 square feet.

The company proposes to double the capacity to 6,000 units a year after completion of the first phase. M.S.R.V. Prasad, chairman of Deccan Auto, said the facility would serve both domestic and export markets in Asia and Africa, where the company has a big presence in the cement and steel industry.

Deccan Auto has a technical association with a state-owned Chinese auto company, Jhongtong, which exports its vehicles to more than 30 countries worldwide. The plant will also manufacture buses for Pune-based Corona Bus Manufacturing, in which Prasad has the majority stake. While Deccan will focus on the luxury segment targeting the private sector, Corona would continue to focus on government transport buses.

Speaking on the occasion, Chandrasekhar Rao said the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) would soon place an order for the buses. The chief minister said he was pleased to commission the first bus plant in the state which would provide employment to 5,000 people.

He promised round-the-clock electricity supply to the industry and said steps were being taken to produce an additional 25,000 megawatts of electricity. Rao said the new industrial policy launched last month was helping the state attract huge investment. He said the single window created under the policy was one of its kind in the world and it cleared 17 projects in 11 days.