BN Singh (right) in Gamharia on Wednesday. Picture by Animesh Sengupta

The civil wing of telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on Wednesday began constructing a hi-tech lab and common business centre that is part of the Rs 65-crore auto cluster coming up in Adityapur.

The hi-tech lab, supposed to be the most important part of the cluster project and common business centre, will spawn across five acres facing the Adityapur Small Industries Association office on Tata-Kandra Road in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.

General manager of BSNL’s Jamshedpur Switching Area B.N. Singh, who was present at the project site on Wednesday, expressed confidence that they would complete work on the Rs 43-crore lab by March next year.

“It is an ambitious project aimed at benefiting the auto ancillary units of Adityapur. The lab will provide solutions by designing products according to specifications,” said Singh.

The auto cluster project, which is the second such initiative in the country after Pune, is being executed by the state-owned BSNL, which was roped in by the Adityapur Auto Cluster Limited.

“Work on the hi-tech lab is already two months behind schedule. But we are still trying to keep pace and meet the March deadline. We will step up efforts in the days to come,” Sinha told The Telegraph.

He added that all the requisite construction materials had been brought in and work was expected to pick up pace.

Once ready, the hi-tech lab building will house separate units for structural dynamics, metallurgy, meteorology, electronics, technical library and computer-aided engineering divisions.

R.K. Sinha, the managing director of Adityapur Auto Cluster Limited, was also present on the occasion.

A senior functionary of Adityapur Small Industries Association, who was also present, expressed happiness. “I am happy that work has started on the project. BSNL should try and meet the deadline now,” he said.