ETA Star to invest $1Bn in India

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 25 January 2008, 01:29 IST
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Mumbai: ETA Star, a Dubai based property developer plans to invest around $1 billion in India. The company is likely to enter into port and aviation sector in the country, reported Business Standard. The new investment will be in addition to investment made by the company in various other sectors like power and real estate. The company that invested about Rs 4,000 to 4,500 crore in the development of a port in Tamil Nadu, is conducting a bathymetry (is the study of underwater depth) study to finalize the required site. For execution of the project a special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed within next seven to eight months. The group plans to name the SPV as ETA Star Ports. However, it will form a part of the ETA Star in India. "We will finalize our plans for the ports venture after the bathymetry study is drafted, which is underway. We will convey our intentions to the Tamil Nadu government shortly," said Hameed Salahuddin, Director, ETA Star. The new port will mainly focus on shipments of coal to serve the number of power projects that are coming up in Tamil Nadu. It will also handle a sizeable number of automobile export and import for Hyundai, Ford and Ashok Leyland. Star Aviation, a Chennai based private airline firm of the ETA group, is planning to start commercial flight operations in June or July this year. The company plans to launch the service initially as a regional carrier in the southern region, connecting cities such as Visakapatanam, Coimbatore, Madurai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Hyderabad. The company will start operations with six Airbus with single class configuration. Company officials claim that the airline will operate in an all-economy class. With the new system the group plans to make air travel affordable for the local people.