Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) signed an agreement with the Gujarat State Government in June 2012, for taking 700 acres of land to build its third manufacturing plant. The leading auto manufacturer has decided to allocate Rs. 4000 crore for building this plant. As reported by the Times of India, an additional 500 acres of land in Mandal taluka of Ahmedabad district has been acquired by MSIL, and it is 20 km away from the factory site in Hansalpur. This additional piece of land will be used for building a vendor park.
It is expected that the Gujarat plant will be producing 2.5 lakh units per annum, which will be achieved in a phased manner. This will take the total production of MSIL to 20 lakhs per annum, inclusive of the Gurgaon and Manesar plants, by 2015-16. Around 100 acres of the land has been allocated by GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation) in Ughrojpura village, and the rest has been taken through farmers. On this allocation, a senior State Government official said, “The company had applied for additional land. But land acquisition for GIDC in Mandal taluka, where state government plans to create a special investment region plan for auto ancillaries, hasn't been completed. So the company acquired the additional land from farmers.” MSIL had paid the first instalment of Rs. 22 crore to GIDC in August this year. A total of eight instalments have to be paid, amounting to Rs. 175 crore, for Hansalpur.
The new plant will be located 100 km away from the Mundra port, which will be helpful for reducing costs during exports. The boundary wall of this plant is already under construction, as per MM Singh, Chief Operating Officer, MSIL production. It is possible that the company's all-new diesel vehicle may be manufactured here.
