Rs.14,000 Crore Silicon Complex Plan in Vizag

The Bangalore-based Velankani Group will invest Rs 14,000 crore over the next seven years to set up an integrated stone-to-wafer silicon complex in Visakhapatnam, the first of its kind in India.The group, which has interests in IT, hospitality, infrastructure and telecommunications, will manufacture chlorosilanes, the intermediates used to manufacture siloxanes and silanes—the building blocks for many silicone products, polysilocon and other silicon compounds for semiconductor and photo-voltaic solar industries.Andhra Pradesh has been the hub of much activity in solar photo-voltaic investments, with the proposed Fab City in Hyderabad attracting interest from at least three-four investors.The state government has agreed to provide 150 acres to Velankani group and another 80 acres later, according to a statement from chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s office.The investment in the first two years beginning August this year will be Rs 1,350 crore.The project is expected to generate direct employment of 10,000, besides offering another 25,000 indirect jobs, Kiron D Shah, managing director & CEO, Velankani, said. The presence of the Vizag and the Gangavaram ports is the attraction to set up the project in Visakhapatnam.Velankani Renewable Energy Co, which will be executing the project, will have a capacity to produce 500 million silicon wafers per annum, 1500 mw PV cells per annum and 1500 mw of PV modules per annum during 2010-2016.The group is planning to roll out its first poly silicon product into the market by October 2009.