Japan minister impressed with Sri City’s potential

Tirupati:A four-member delegation of senior officials of the Embassy of Japan in India, headed by economic and development minister Kyoko Hokugo visited Sri City on Thursday to study the infrastructure facilities available in the SEZ.

Sri City senior officials, including Satish Kamat, president (operations), extended a warm welcome to the delegation while R Shivshankar, senior vice-president (marketing) briefed them on the infrastructure and unique features of the mega industrial park.

He also highlighted the advantages of setting up a manufacturing unit in Sri City and detailed the financial investments being offered by the state government. Other members of the team included First Secretaries Masahiro Kawakami and Suzuki Junichiro, and Naoko Yuzawa, Consul, Consulate-General of Japan in Chennai.

Expressing satisfaction on the available infrastructure and locational advantages, Kyoko Hokugo said,”We are impressed with the potential of Sri City and happy to witness the brisk development in Sri City, which is the ‘favoured’ industrial park in India for Japanese companies.”

Commenting on the visit, Dr Ravindra Sannareddy, managing director, Sri City, said the conducive business atmosphere here, coupled with exceptional infrastructure, a skilled workforce, and governmental support, would undoubtedly leave a strong impression and lead to increased investments in Sri City, which is recognised as the second largest Japanese Industrial Township in the country.

There is an ecosystem in place that encourages supply chain firms to establish their facilities here, assisting the Japanese OEMs, he added.

The delegation held an interactive discussion with the CEOs of several of the Sri City-based Japanese enterprises.

The purpose of the visit was to personally observe and understand the industrial park’s unique features, evaluate its business prospects, and explore the feasibility of investments from Japan.

During the briefing session they all evinced keen interest in knowing more about the industrial park.

They all went round the campus and witnessed the existing infrastructure.