India’s first industrial township gets a Rs 1,600-crore solar cell manufacturing unit

Parawada Industrial Park, described as India’s first industrial township, is set to host a new solar cell manufacturing unit as green energy investment continues to grow around Visakhapatnam. The park, spread across 2,400 acres and established as a Special Economic Zone, has traditionally been a hub for bulk drug, API and chemical manufacturing.

Greenteck Private Limited is setting up the 3.5-gigawatt capacity facility in the park with an investment of Rs 1,600 crore, after the government allotted 34 acres of land for the unit. The project is expected to provide direct employment to around 1,000 people.

The land had earlier been proposed for an MSME park, but the government changed its decision to allot it to the solar cell facility instead, and officials have since been instructed to identify suitable alternative land for the MSME park in the surroundings of Parawada.

In recent years, several green energy plants have started construction in the Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts, and the new solar cell unit is expected to further boost green energy development in the region.