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Cadila Pharmaceuticals has chalked out ambitious plans to set up close to eight units in its upcoming PhaEZ Park near Ahmedabad, which is touted to be the largest in India.
"In all, we will invest about Rs 600-700 crore (Rs 6-7 billion) to set up seven to eight units in our SEZ. About 25 per cent of the SEZ area will be utilised captively by Cadila," Cadila Chairman I A Modi said.
The eight units will come up in a phased manner in a span of six to seven years.
"We want to demonstrate the merits of the SEZ by setting up our own units initially. With this in place, many national and international pharma companies will be drawn to the SEZ," said Modi.
The company aims to set up two units for an estimated investment of about Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) soon.
"We are still in the process of zeroing in on the products and quantity for the two units. By June 2009, our units will be in place," said Pratap Mohan, vice-president, Cadila. Cadila has floated a subsidiary, CPL Infrastructure, to fast-track the development of the 500-acre zone. The company is also planning to set up a 50-mw, gas-based power plant and has initiated talks to rope in power companies as co-developers, according to Mohan.
About 30 units, involving investment of Rs 1,500-3,000 crore (Rs 15-30 billion), are expected to come up in the PhaEZ Park.
The cost of developing the SEZ is estimated at Rs 550-600 crore (RS 5.5-6 billion). About 40 per cent of Cadila's turnover comes from exports. The company clocked a turnover of Rs 750-800 crore (Rs 7.5-8 billion) in the financial year 2007-08, a growth of 20 per cent compared with the previous year's.
The SEZ will create employment for two to eight thousand people.
Meanwhile, Cadila has taken over two ITIs under a government initiative. The students from these institutes will be trained in specially designed courses to meet active pharmaceutical ingredient and formulation requirements.
