Land acquisition for Hero’s Halol plant complete

The land acquisition process for the proposed Rs 1,100-crore Hero MotoCorp's manufacturing unit at Halol has been completed, state government sources said.

"The acquisition process for Hero has been completed. About 135 acres of land has already been allotted to the company while the remaining parcel of land will be allotted by the end of this month," said a senior government official.

The unit is expected to come up about 40 kilometres from Vadodara. It will be the fourth manufacturing plant — after Dharuhera, Gurgaon and Haridwar — for the country's largest two-wheeler maker.

The land allotted to the company is located in Halol Extension-II, which is situated about four kilometres from the Halol GIDC in the Panchmahals district.

"The land has been allotted to Hero at a tentative price of about Rs 700 per square meter," the official said, hinting that the rates could change as per the cost of infrastructure development that needs to happen in and around the proposed unit that is expected to become operational on about 200 acres of land by the second quarter of 2013-14. The plant will initially have a manufacturing capacity of 1.2 million units.

Early this year, the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) had raised the prices of land at Halol GIDC by 30%. The current land rates stand at Rs 780 per square metre.

The land allotted to Hero MotoCorp is two kilometres from the manufacturing units of General Motors and auto ancillary units owned by Lord Swaraj Paul's Caparo Group.

"Halol Extension-II is a new industrial zone being developed by GIDC in the area. The arrival of industries such has Hero will accelerate the growth and employment opportunities in the region," said Kirit J Thakkar, president of the Halol (GIDC) Industries Association.

Well-known firms like Sun Pharma, HNG Float Glass, SETCO, CEAT and Siemens have made this industrial cluster in Halol their home in the last few years.

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