A United States consulate will begin operations in Hyderabad 'sometime in late 2008,' US Ambassador to India David C Mulford announced in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
A lease agreement for establishing the American consulate in the city was inked in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy and the US envoy.
US Department of State Strategic Planning Division Director Alexander J Kurien and Andhra Pradesh government's General Administration Department Principal Secretary (Political) C R Biswal signed the agreement for leasing Paigah Palace, a 100-year-old heritage building, for the new consulate.
The US ambassador told media persons that the consulate would start functioning from the temporary facility in late 2008 and a permanent facility would come up by 2011 on the 12-acre land offered by the state government at Gacchi Bowli on the city outskirts.
Mulford said $7.6 million have been provided in the US budget for renovation of the building and other expenses while another $ 6 million would be required for the staff and operations.
This is the fourth US consulate in India after Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. The Ambassador recalled that US President George W Bush had, during his visit to Hyderabad in March 2006, announced setting up of the US consulate in the city.
"We are extremely happy in locating the consulate in Hyderabad. We chose Hyderabad as it an ideal place to locate the consulate. It is a well managed city
with a broad economic base," Mulford said.