The Telangana government on Monday signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Formula E, moving a step closer to hosting a round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in Hyderabad. The agreement will see Formula E work with city and state officials to examine the viability of hosting a future E-Prix.
Speaking at an event here that marked signing of the formal agreement, Telangana IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said: “Today we signed the agreement to become the Candidate Host City for hosting Formula E race and shall have the first race within a year in Hyderabad.” He said this shall be one of the flagship events for Telangana, putting Hyderabad on the global map.
Hosting a Formula E race every year is going to transform the city’s image and it shall usher in awareness for electric vehicles and shall create new business opportunities for local industry, the Minister said. “I strongly believe that Formula E embodies the spirit of racing towards an electric future, new industrialised future, new digital future, new decarbonised future, and we are excited to be a part of this wonderful initiative,” Rama Rao, who is also referred to as KTR, said.
The Minister further said Telangana aspires to become a global destination for electric vehicle and EV battery manufacturing and towards this a 1200-acre industrial park exclusively for EV manufacturing, and a 450-acre park for battery manufacturing has been allocated. “Very soon, we are going to be home for four EV bus manufacturers, and three cell manufacturing companies, and recently we have also created a 200-acre park dedicated for MSMEs in EV sector,” he said.
Alberto Longo, Formula E Co-founder and Chief Championship Officer, said: “We welcome Hyderabad and Telangana’s interest in hosting a round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. With this Letter Of Intent we can further explore the exciting potential of returning elite motorsport to India”.
Mahindra group chairman Anand Mahindra tweeted: “We were one of the founding teams in Formula E and a long held dream of @MahindraRacing has been to race our cars on home ground, cheered on by a home crowd. Thank you @KTRTRS for taking a huge step towards making that dream a reality! We can’t wait ”
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