Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the country’s leading car manufacturer, has started its land hunt in Panagarh to establish the servicing and warehousing centre. According to Ravindra Dayal, Executive Director, MSIL, the company wants to set up the centre so that they can cater to the needs of customers belonging to eastern India.
R. Dayal commented, "We are looking for around 60 acre for the project in Panagarh. We will also look into the Panagarh Industrial Park. If it suits us, we will execute the project there. Otherwise, we will look for land in the vicinity of Panagarh along NH 2. The project will involve an investment of over Rs. 100 crore."
The company officials recently had a meeting with Partha Chatterjee who is the commerce and industries minister of Bengal. This meeting was regarding the MSIL projects in the state and was discussed at the investors’ summit, Bengal Leads 2012. This plan will be implemented once it is given a nod by the Chief Minister of Bengal, Mamata Banerjee.
In November 2009, the automobile hub was set up near Howrah. During that time Mamata Banerjee stated that such centres will also be established at Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Siliguri, Pune, Guwahati, Bangalore, Kerala and Ahmedabad as a pilot project in joint venture with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
Ravindra Dayal commented, "We first thought of setting up this facility in Jharkhand. Later, considering favourable government policies in Bengal, we decided to shift it here."
The facility that Maruti Suzuki is planning to open in Bengal is expected to have a capacity to house 10,000-15,000 cars. Once established, the MSIL automobile hub will cover the entire eastern region that will include Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Orrisa. At present, Maruti Suzuki India Limited occupies 65% of the market share in the east zone and sells approximately 20,000 units.
MSIL previously opened its integrated servicing and warehousing centre in Gurgaon, Bangalore and Nagpur. The Bangalore MSIL servicing centre is spread across an area of 120 acre that incurred a total cost of Rs. 200 crore. The Gurgaon facility was set up to provide services to North Indian customers while the Bangalore hub was established to cater to South Indian customers.
The company is planning a project in Kanchenjunga Integrated Park, Siliguri that would be able to deal with the requirements of customers from north-east regions and north Bengal.
Ravindra Dayal stated, "The minister has sought a presentation from us on our similar projects earlier. We will make a presentation within a week. The Siliguri project will generate direct employment for around 150 people,"
Currently, West Bengal Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBIIDC) and Shristi Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited are working in collaboration for the Kanchenjunga Integrated Park project.
According to Sunil Jha, Chief Executive Officer, Shristi Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, Maruti Suzuki should wait for the approval letter from WBIIDC before commencing its project.
