KCR said the Pharma City coming up around Hyderabad in about a year would accommodate about 5,00,000 persons including employees and their families.
In about 7,000-8,000 acres of land accessible though the National highway and a railway track, a Pharma City or a group of Pharma Cities are likely to come up around Hyderabad in about a year's time.
The Pharma Cities will include both industries as well as residential colonies.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao mentioned this to a group of members belonging to the Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association led by President Jayanth Tagore and General Secretary R K Agarwal.
The Chief Minister said that the proposed pharma city would be beyond the expectations of drug manufacturers. It would be exemplary and pollution free, and with its coming up the pharma industry would grow manifold.
He said that the Pharma City was expected to accommodate about 5,00,000 employees and their families in the residential colony, hitting about 20,00,000 over a period of time.
The Chief Minister also said that a power plant with 500 MW capacity would be established adjacent to the Pharma City to provide captive, dedicated and uninterrupted power supply to the pharma industry.
The required land, infrastructure facilities, communication facility, power supply, water supply etc. for the Pharma City will be provided by the government.
The Chief Minister said that international-level consultancies, experts in developing industrial estates, would be contacted to design the Pharma City.
KCR expressed hope that once the Pharma City was developed, all the drug and pharma companies would move there, including their ancillaries.
Earlier, the Association President and General Secretary, making a presentation to the Chief Minister on the salient features of the Telangana pharmaceutical industry, mentioned that 30% of medicines exported to the USA were from Telangana.
The total production was valued at Rs. 65,168 crores, and exports of medicines from Telangana were valued at Rs. 32,584 crores, they added.
They said that the pharmaceutical industry in Telangana contributed substantially to the Central and State exchequers. The direct and indirect employment generation was 1,00,000 to 5,00,000 respectively, they claimed.
The drugs manufacturers' association requested the Chief Minister to create an exclusive department for pharma, to which the Chief Minister responded positively.
Principal Secretary to Chief Minister S Narsing Rao and Additional Secretary to the Chief Minister Smitha Sabarwal also attended the meeting. (INN)