HYDERABAD, India — Ultramodern skyscrapers of metal and glass are emerging from everywhere, and the apparently endless construction of new roads and overpasses never manages to match the ever-growing transportation demands of Hyderabad, rapidly becoming southern India's latest star.
India's sixth-most populous city is attracting huge investments from home and abroad in industries such as information technology and pharmaceuticals, and is positioning itself to catch up with telecom magnet Bangalore and automobile center Chennai.
The slated visit to Tokyo by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in late October to ink a bilateral free-trade pact with Prime Minister Naoto Kan is expected to speed Japan's investments in Hyderabad and elsewhere in India, especially in infrastructure developments and autos.