NRI to set up Rs 10cr auto unit in Dharwad

Source: Times of India

HUBLI: It's a call of the motherland for Ravi Harsoor, an NRI hailing from Gulbarga and settled in the US, who has come forward to set up an auto ancillary unit in north Karnataka and contribute his bit to the industrial development of the region.

At the North Karnataka Investors' Meet held here on Monday, Harsoor expressed his intent to set up an auto ancillary unit at Belur industrial area in Dharwad at a cost of Rs 10 crore. It will be a pilot project and based on the response, the NRI plans to expand it further.

Born and brought up in Gulbarga, Ravi Harsoor is an engineering graduate settled in America for the past 18 years. He worked for a few years at the Tata Consultancy Services in Mumbai before moving on to the US.

Speaking to TOI about his project, Ravi said he was waiting for some opportunity to set up an industrial unit in north Karnataka. It came in the form of the North Karnataka Investors' Meet.

"I was invited by the industries ministry to attend the meet. I decided to tap the potential of the region in the auto sector," he said.

"If the pilot project takes off well, we are keen on setting up a permanent auto ancillary establishment investing Rs 50 crore more," he said.

Two of Harsoor friends, Virupannavar and Goutam Chopra are also joining hands with him in this venture.

Now, the team is in the process of identifying land in Belur and finding prospective buyers.

They plan to start the unit by the end of December.

Harsoor is running real estate and health care projects in the US. He is also owns a BPO in Mysore.

[Dharwad] New truck terminus to come up

Source: Times of India

DHARWAD: A new truck terminus will soon come up on a 7.26-acre land at Belur Industrial Area off Dharwad. The terminus, being developed at a cost of Rs 8 crore, will accommodate 184 trucks. Facilities like dormitory, drinking water, retail shops, toilets, dhaba and police station will also come up there.

District minister Jagadish Shettar visited the site on Monday along with DC Darpan Jain. He said the project launched in September 2010 would be completed before December this year. "A proposal has been submitted to the government, demanding funds to construct a hi-tech truck terminus at Anchatgeri near Hubli. Once the funds are sanctioned, the work on the terminus will be taken up on 50 acres," he added.

MP Pralhad Joshi and MLA Shankarpatil Munenkoppa were present.