State Of The Economy 2014

On safer shores

Bharuch is booming on the back of great roads, ports and a powered-up electrical grid

Photographs by Ajit Solanki

Chih-Hsuan Yen has been away from Taiwan for nearly two years, but still takes time to make the mental switch to English. The languages here at Dahej may be very different, but the 37-year-old Yen says there’s not much difference in work style. “Barring the summer heat and the hour-long drive from Bharuch city every morning, working here is much like working at Kaohsiung,” he says. Of course, it helps that he’s still working for a Taiwanese company — steelmaker China Steel Corporation’s India subsidiary — and he has the company of 100 compatriots who have also moved to Gujarat to ensure that commercial production of electrical steel starts at the Dahej plant this July on schedule.