Vasu

Jamshedji Tata set up India's first textile mill in the Orange City in 1887, which later came to be known as Empress Mills. Exactly 120 years later, the Tata group is again coming to the city with major plans. Two Tata establishments are to come up in the city.

Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation has approved the allotment of land for an automobile component unit as well a unit of Tata Consultancy Services within the SEZ coming up here.

No other unit was set by this industrial group in the region after Empress Mills, which had a major impact on the city's socio-economic condition.

Empress Mills was taken over by the Maharashtra State Textile Corporation in 1980s and it finally shut down in 2003.

MADC's vice-chairman-cum-managing director R C Sinha said that a decision of a formal approval of allotment was taken on Monday. Tatas were in parleys for the automobile unit since a couple of months and its team had recently inspected the site at the SEZ.

However, MADC had been in talks with TCS for long and the company was keen on investing here, Sinha added. The automobile component unit will be making auto parts for export and has been allotted 30 acres of land. TCS has got over 50 acres in the SEZ.

TCS has proposed to create employment for 6,000 persons during a span of five to six years and pump in close to Rs 500 crore in the unit. The other unit would have an investment to the tune of Rs 150-200 crore and may create employment for 1,000 persons within four years.


New source: Times of India
Dated: 18 July 2007