Hyderabad: US Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster on Tuesday attended the ''topping out'' ceremony of the new US Consulate Compound in Hyderabad.

He celebrated the completion of all major structural components at the new US Consulate Compound, which is being built at a cost of $350 million.

Coming up on 12 acres of land in Financial District at Nanakramguda, the multi-building complex is scheduled to be completed next year.

"I'm pleased to see progress at the new U.S. Consulate Compound in Hyderabad, he said.

The facility will feature 54 consular interview windows as well as artfully preserved Deccan rock formations, the consulate said.

"The new facility serves as a pillar of the deepening relationship between the United States and this region of India, where Consulate General Hyderabad officially engages communities, companies, and institutions across the States of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha," the consulate said in a statement.

Through the duration of the project an estimated $33 million is being invested in the local economy. An estimated workforce of over 1,000 American, Indian and third-country workers are involved in the construction.

"The overall design is influenced by the topography of the site, characterized with its marked rocky formations on a steep slope. The buildings are positioned to allow for integration and protection of the naturally occurring boulders on the site. The design focuses on native boulder formations, as well as an adjoining open space. Consular service and areas dedicated to public diplomatic functions are designed around the visitor experience."

Ambassador Juster also visited the TATA-Lockheed Martin Aerostructures facility. His visit to the impressive 4,700 square-meter TATA-Lockheed Martin facility marks the 10-year anniversary of this partnership and highlights the importance of the growing defence ties between the United States and India.

The jointly-owned facility in Adibatla manufactures airframe components, including centre-wing boxes and tail sections for the C-130J military transport aircraft. Tata-Lockheed plans to expand their partnership to produce further aircraft in India, which would advance the capabilities of the Indian Air Force and accelerate US-India cooperation in sensitive high-end technologies.

The US envoy also announced completion of a U.S.-funded restoration project at the 17th century Qutb Shahi Tombs through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP).

In February 2019, he had announced a $103,000 grant through AFCP, partnering with the Aga Khan Foundation to restore and conserve the centuries-old tombs of Taramati and Premamati within the greater Qutb Shahi Tombs complex. This is the second grant awarded by the US Government for conservation work at the Qutb Shahi Tombs. An earlier AFCP grant of $101,000, awarded in 2014, contributed to mapping and documenting structures throughout the site and helped transform archaeologists'' understanding of the monument's earliest architecture.

"From the success of the US-India defence partnership, as exemplified by a decade of cooperation between Lockheed Martin and Tata, to the restoration of the historic tombs of Taramati and Premamati, US-India ties are clearly thriving in Hyderabad," Juster said.