AP govt signs agreement for US Consulate in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, July 3 (UNI) A day after its nuclear aircraft carrier USS Nimitz anchored off the Indian shores, the United States today signed a significant lease agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government to open a Consulate in Hyderabad, its fourth consulate office in India to meet the increased demand for visas from the region.

The lease agreement which would temporarily locate the American Consulate at the Paigah Palace, a 100-year-old palace of the erstwhile Nizam, was signed in the presence of US Ambassador to India David C Mulford and Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy at a leading star hotel here.

The lease for a period of five years would facilitate building a permanent campus for the American Consulate in Hyderabad, which is expected to be ready by 2011.

Mr Mulford said the Paigah Palace would be renovated with US Dollar 7.6 million and the Consulate in Hyderabad was likely to be operational the next year. ''Now that the project has been positioned for budgetary allocation, we will initially renovate and prepare it by late 2008,'' he told reporters, after the signing ceremony here.

The Chief Minister said the state government was in the process of finalising the allotment of about 12 acres of land in Gachibowli for location of the permanent US Consulate in Hyderabad. The state government was proactive as seen with the signing of the agreement 15 months after the US President George Bush made the announcement during his visit to Hyderabad.

Stating that there would be no financial constraint as it was positioned in the fiscal year's budget, the US Ambassador indicated that more investment would be made for expansion and creation of additional infrastructure and staff.

He said Hyderabad was chosen as it was strategic, both for its location and an impressive mix and good blend of business, besides a long history of association of the people of Andhra Pradesh with the United States.

Picking up after Dr Reddy reminded that every fourth person in the Silicon Valley in the US was an Indian and every fourth Indian was from Andhra Pradesh, the Ambassador said Indian citizens were successful and had become an inseperable part of the US life.

He said ''though Hyderabad is a big and busy city, it is well managed.'' UNI DB VA AK HT1838