Harold Solomon, general manager, Island Builders and Developers Pvt Ltd, the Indian partner for Visionwall, said the production unit will be set up in the first quarter of 2002. The estimated cost of the unit would be around Rs 5 crore, said Mr Solomon.

He added that there is a huge market for glass walls in the commercial sector in India. He informed that his company had tied up with Visionwall to market their products in India. The glass walls are currently imported from Canada.

The company wants to start production in India to bring down the cost of the product and also to meet the growing indigenous demand. The import duty is a major impediment. The import duty is a whopping 70 to 80 per cent, if it is used for any construction activity other than that for hotels and software houses.

Explaining the advantages of this product, Robert Grandbois, senior vice-president (sales and marketing), Visionwall Corporation, said, ``Glass walls reduce electrical and mechanical capital costs as the glass has high insulation value. The other benefits include reduced lighting and energy costs, better use of natural light and reduces cooling loads. It also cuts drastically on the noise and hence is also suitable for noisy sites also.''

Mr Grandbois claimed that the construction cost of premises is reduced by one to two per cent as compared to conventional brick and motar constructions as the glass walls do not allow the outside temperature to affect the temperature inside, thereby reducing the operational costs of air-coolers and heating instruments. The glass walls are manufactured at the factories and need very little installing time, leading to speedy construction. ``The glass walls are more effective in extreme climates too,'' added Mr Grandbois.

The company is also advocating using glass walls for residential buildings but it has not taken off in a big way. More than 90 per cent of the glass walls go in making commercial premises.

Visionwall is involved in construction of glass walls, which has a life of 50 to 60 years and requires very little maintenance.

The demand for glass walls is growing the world over, while the price of glass - the main raw material - is falling, according to Mr Grandbois.