The Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone, an initiative of the State government to attract medical devices manufacturing units to Visakhapatnam to bring down the cost of healthcare by at least 40%, has joined the elite club of BRICS Woking Group on Manufacturing from India.
The BRICS is an association of five major economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It has seven working groups in the areas of infrastructure, manufacturing, financial services, energy and green economy, skill development, agribusiness, and deregulation under the aegis of the BRICS Business Council. An official of the AMTZ told The Hindu on Thursday that they would be part of an elite group, comprising Tata, Mahindra & Mahindra, Birla, and Apollo Tyres.
The BRICS Business Council, which was set up during the Fifth BRICS Summit held in Durban (South Africa) in March, was aimed at creating a platform to promote and strengthen ties among the member countries.
AMTZ, which is in the process of finalising tenders for its first phase of construction at Nadupuru village near here, where it has been allotted 270 acres early this year, is expected to become a hub for ultra modern medical equipment manufacturing.
Estimated investment
The project is envisaged to attract at least 200 units with an estimated investment of ₹25,000 crore to ₹30,000 crore and job opportunities for 25,000 people.
The park will be developed as an Electronic Manufacturing Cluster, the first after the one proposed at Gurrampalem near Pendurthi in the city. AMTZ will be an import substitute for medical devices being brought from the Europe, the US, Germany, and China.
The zone will have separate labs for electro-magentic interference/compatibility, gamma irradiation, X-ray/CT scan tube manufacturing, radiated emissions, conducted emission, 3D design, prototyping and rapid tooling facility and central warehousing, exhibition and seminar halls, regulatory offices and export import promotion body.
