Hyderabad

Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar today laid the foundation for Bharat Electronics Limited’s (BEL) Defence Systems Integration Complex at Palasamudram of Gorantala Mandal in Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh.

Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Nirmala Sitharaman and Y S Chowdary along with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chabndrababu Naidu were present on the occasion.

The unit, covering an area of over 900 acres, will be an extension of BEL’s Missile Systems Strategic Business Unit at its Bangalore Complex and the largest such facility in the country once it is commissioned, an official release said.

The facility will be built in phases as various projects mature and the estimated investment will be about Rs 500 crore over 3 to 4 years.

BEL also plans to expand its facility to Nimmaluru village of Pamarru mandal in Krishna district in an extent of 50.74 acres, it added.

The new facility will house state-of-the-art infrastructure such as assembly hangars and hard stands for radars and weapon integration, RF radiation sources for target simulation, automatic test equipment, clean rooms for electronic assembly, non-explosive and explosive integration buildings, missile storage buildings, environmental test chambers, fire stations, solar power plant, it added.

PTI