Wockhardt to build SEZ in Aurangabad, Signs deal with MIDC to develop 107 hectare plot

Wockhardt Ltd has announced that the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to establish a special economic zone (SEZ) in Aurangabad.

The MoU was signed by Mr. Rajiv Jalota, MIDC Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Huzaifa Khorakiwala, the Company's Executive Director, in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh and a galaxy of senior ministers and top officials from the state government.

The SEZ will be spread over 107 hectares of land leased by MIDC at Shendra. The Wockhardt Group will establish a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing and research facility at the SEZ. It will provide employment to an estimated 2000 people.

"This SEZ will provide the base for a new thrust in international markets that will drive Wockhardts growth in the coming years," the Company's Chairman Habil Khorakiwala said. "It will make Aurangabad a major hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries."

Mr. Khorakiwala complimented the state government for its support and fast clearance of the first major pharmaceutical and biotechnology SEZ in the state.

The SEZ will house manufacturing facilities for active pharmaceutical ingredients, biopharmaceuticals, research and development centre, effluent treatment plant, a corporate office, warehouse and a residential and recreational complex.

The Company currently has 10 manufacturing facilities, including one in the UK, most of them certified by international regulatory bodies like the US FDA. The proposed plants at the SEZ will also be built for international regulatory compliance.

Over half of the Company's sales now come from Europe and the US, but India continues to be the group’s manufacturing and research base.

The Company was one of the earliest companies to set up a manufacturing facility in Aurangabad in 1979. President APJ Abdul Kalam inaugurated the Company's Biotech Park, India’s largest biopharmaceuticals complex in Aurangabad in 2004. The company’s expertise in biopharmaceuticals is backed by robust manufacturing, regulatory and marketing infrastructure, offering huge opportunities for outsourcing and potential alliances with biotechnology leaders in the US and European Union. Further investment in biotechnology at the proposed SEZ will accelerate the Company's expanding global reach.

The Company is a technology-driven pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with an active multi-disciplinary research programme employing 400 scientists. Its new drug discovery programme has yielded several promising new molecules, one of which is now in Phase II human clinical trials. The US and European Union contribute to half of the Company's sales. The Company has a market capitalisation of over $1 billion.

Source : Equity Bulls

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