Katerra to set up $100-mn plant in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Katerra, a design and technology-driven construction company, announced plans to set up offsite manufacturing plant for prefabricated building components and fittings on the Hyderabad outskirts. It will invest a total of $100 million (nearly Rs 700 crore) on the plant.

Silicon Valley, US-based company which has operations in the US and India, broke the ground for the new facility which will come up in 50 acres near Shamshabad. The plant will commence operations in November this year, but it will be fully completed by March 2020. It will deliver eight million square feet of building components every year through robotic assembly line production. It will produce bathrooms, walls, floors, doors, windows and all other components required for constructing buildings.

The factory will help bring Katerra's global technology solutions to construct commercial office buildings, hotels, malls, hospitals and schools. The Hyderabad plant will generate 1,000 new jobs. Besides, the company will also provide 7,000 jobs at job sites and through auxiliary services.

Ash Bhardwaj, President- Asia and Middle East, Katerra, said: "Apart from our factory at Krishnagiri near Bangalore, we will now have a factory in Hyderabad to service our clients in the Southern part of India."

Nejeeb Khan, Head Design & Business Strategy in India, Katerra, said: "Across the globe, data driven design, design for manufacturing and assembly (DFMA), modular construction, offsite manufacturing, intelligent buildings and construction software are gaining prominence in order to construct faster and better structures".

Through Katerra, we are introducing such new and innovative solutions in India that need to be adapted to cater to the country's growing demand for overall infrastructure development, he added.

We believe, India has a tremendous potential of replicating some of the global construction models and build beautiful structures in both commercial and residential sectors, he added.