Date:25/02/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/02/25/stories/2006022501832100.htm

Back Stone for footwear plant to be laid today

Our Bureau

Hyderabad , Feb. 24

The foundation stone for the Rs 500-crore footwear manufacturing plant of Apache Investment Holdings, a supplier to Adidas, will be laid on Saturday at Mambattu village in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.

The Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, will lay the foundation stone for this project, which will also pave the way for creation of a sector- specific special economic zone (SEZ) for the footwear industry.

A Singapore-based firm, Apache has been allotted 314.7 acres and has assured the State Government to expedite work on the project; phase one of the project is likely to be ready by the year-end.

According to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office, Apache has assured the State that the company would initially invest about Rs 200 crore and would step up investments phase-wise.

Later, this project would be complemented by a tannery at a suitable location nearby.

The developers of the footwear SEZ and other industries in the zone would be exempt from local taxes and levies.

According to estimates, the company has indicated that there would be a potential to employ about 30,000 people over four years.

The company expects workforce to touch about 7,000 in the first year, 15,000 in the second, 20,000 in the third, and 30,000 by the fourth year.

Adidas has been chosen as the official supplier of footwear for Beijing Olympics and Apache is an exclusive supplier of footwear to Adidas.

Of the 30,000 people the company employs, about 60 per cent are women. The company has hinted that it would employ local people, particularly women.