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Naidu pitches hard for F1 race track in AP

September 15, 2003 14:12 IST

Responding positively to Chief Minister N Chandababu Naidu's bid to get Formula 1 racetrack to Hyderabad, Bernie Ecclestone, the chief executive officer of Formula 1, has agreed to visit Hyderabad for further discussions during the Afro-Asian Games next month.

On the first day of his visit to Italy, the chief minister made a multimedia presentation at a 45-minute luncheon meeting hosted by Ecclestone, and strongly pitched for Formula 1 racetrack. Naidu in his presentation said that Hyderabad was poised to become the hi-tech capital of the sub-continent.

The chief minister said that state was ranked number 2 in attracting investments in the country and an international airport was being set up in Hyderabad. The state government had offered  600 acres of land in Cyberabad for the project, which would involve an investment of about Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion).

After his two-day visit in Italy, Naidu will reach Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel, on September 15 for discussions with Israel Export Institute and Telecom Committee to seek their co-operation in hi-tech areas. He will hold discussions with the officials of Tahal, the largest water resource management company in Israel.

During his visit in Israel, the chief minister will be meeting the president, deputy prime minister, agriculture minister and industries minister, and attend a seminar on business opportunities in agriculture sector in India.

BS Regional Bureau in Hyderabad