The Hyderabad Pharma City project in its entirety will be spread over 19,333 acres, attract an investment of about ₹ 64,000 crore and provide direct employment to 1.7 lakh people, Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao said here on Tuesday.
Addressing presspersons, on the eve of public hearing for its first phase, he said this while seeking to counter criticism on the environmental, local employment and compensatory aspects.
It will be the largest such cluster globally for pharma industry and to be developed on the concept of ‘work, live, play’, Mr. Rama Rao said, pointing out that besides facilities for manufacturing and R&D, the project comprises housing facilities for those employed in the units as well as a pharma university.
Of the 8,300 acres on which the first phase is planned, the government has acquired 6,900 acres, he said, while refraining from fixing a timeframe for the project completion before the environmental clearance is accorded.
Stating that “utmost care” is to be taken to safeguard the environment and pollution will be handled “very efficiently,” the Minister declared: “We are setting up ourselves for scrutiny.”
Several studies, he added, had been conducted to assess the impact on the air and water quality and the energy consumption. Teams comprising officials of the State government had also visited pharma clusters in Europe, US, China and Singapore.
The Hyderabad Pharma City is to be developed as a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) facility and house common effluent treatment plants with a total capacity of 66 MLD. In the first phase, a 24 MLD CETP is to be set up and eight companies had evinced interested in setting up the facility. Only 24% of the industrial allotments at the Pharma City would fall under the ‘Red’ category (of the Pollution Control Board), while the rest would be under the orange category.
Mr. Rama Rao said a significant number of jobs would be for the locals. Those whose land had been acquired would be entitled to a job. Towards readying youth for skilled jobs, the State’s Skill Development Centre would impart training at its cost. The project, he added, would create 4.20 lakh indirect jobs.
On compensation to those lands being acquired, he said only what is required for the project would be taken. “No one knows better the pain and anguish of losing land,” he said, citing how Chief Minister K.Chandrashekhar Rao and his wife belong to families displaced of land for different projects. Estimating exports from the Pharma City to be around ₹58,000 crore, he said the key benefit of the project would be a reduced dependence on import of active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates.
Closure of units
Mr.Rama Rao, who came down on the previous Congress government for not implementing a GO aimed at curbing industrial pollution in Hyderabad, said around 300 pharma units in the city that did not function on the concept of ZLD would be relocated to the Pharma City.
Noting that the government had spent ₹1,500 crore on the project, primarily towards acquiring the land and developing the link road, the Minister said facilities such the Pharma City with shared infrastructure improved capital efficiency. The proposed City would be a comprehensive and integrated eco-system ranging from manufacturing, R&D, education and training.
