Signifying companies' confidence in Maharashtra, the state has now attracted Rs 10,605 crore investments in the midst of economic slowdown. A majority of these investments have come to the Raigad district. As many as eight firms signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday August 18, 2009 to set up projects in the sectors of steel, power, cement and automobile sectors.
The Raigad district will see industries in the following regions:

• Welspun Power and Steel Ltd: Investing Rs 6,000 crore. Setting up a fully integrated steel plant in Murud, Raigad district.
• Job opportunity: 5,000 jobs Production to start: 2012.
• Bhushan Steel Ltd: Investing Rs 1,250 crore for setting up a steel plant at Khalapur near Khopoli.
   Job opportunity: 550 jobs. Production to start: April 2012
• Pohang Iron and Steel Company Ltd, (POSCO): Setting up an Rs 1,200 crore galvanizing plant in Mangaon, Raigad district.
• Amba River Coke Ltd: Investing Rs 1,027 crore to set up a coke oven plant in Pen, Raigad district.

Besides the Raigad district, industries will also come up in Vidarbha, Satara and Yavatmal districts.

Looking at the sectors in which these industries will be set up, it will be beneficial to understand their current status.

Power Sector: During June of 2009 the power sector grew by 8.0% compared to 2.6% growth in June of 2008.

Automobile Sector: The country's passenger car sales grew 30.91 % in July this year, posting the highest year-on-year growth in the last 30 months. Commercial vehicle sales showed a growth of 9.61% - this is after 11 straight months of de-growth. Two-wheeler sales seen 719,668 units being sold in July this year, up 20% from 599,369 units sold a year ago.

Steel Sector: In April-July of this fiscal, steel production stood at 3.8% and consumption stood at 5.8%. Majority of the demand for steel consumption is coming from the infrastructure, automobile and white goods (large electrical home appliances) sector.

Cement Sector: Cement production grew 12 % and dispatches grew 11.7 % in the four months to July of this fiscal.

The growth seen in these sectors has led the companies to announce setting up their industries in these places. Once the industries are set up it attracts infrastructure to support it. This attracts people to the region and it triggers a chain of developments to support the growth.

News impact on Expat Properties:
The jobs to be created due to the entry of these industries will generate increasing interest in the Raigad district. The presence of industries attracts other sectors to set up shop here and in the long run the region's overall value goes up.

Real estate is also positively impacted by industries as their presence boosts investor confidence. It is against this backdrop that Expat Properties has invested in land products in Raigad. Besides properties in Khalapur (The Gardens), Panvel (Solitude Greens), Titawe (Asmita), there are also other properties in Mahad that will all benefit from this industrial advancement in the Raigad district.

In a time when the country's economy is showing a sign of revival and the industrial sectors of power, automobile, steel, cement posting growth, investments in real estate will see its value being raised as real estate is also dependent upon these sectors.

For more information visit:

'Indian steel sector can achieve double digit growth - Mr Rastogi' : Steel Guru - August 17th, 2009
'Poor monsoon may hurt cement demand' : Economic Times - August 19th, 2009
'India's IIP growth rate up for June 2009' : RTT News - August 12th, 2009
'Maharashtra attracts Rs 10k cr of plans' : The Economic Times - August 19th, 2009
'Auto sector clocks steep July growth; outlook bright' : Financial Chronicle - August 10th, 2009