30.8.08

GM to pump another $ 200 Million in Pune facility

For global auto giant General Motors, Maharashtra is fast emerging as the investment hotspot. The car maker, which already has a car manufacturing plant at Talegaon near Pune, pledged $200 million more for the facility to manufacture diesel and petrol engines.The company officials said the initial investment in the power train unit would exceed $200 million, which is over and above more than $300 million GM has invested in the car plant. GM India president and managing director Karl Slym and Maharashtra’s principal secretary, industries, Azeez Khan, signed an MoU to this effect on Thursday in Mantralaya, the state administrative headquarters, in the presence of chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.Mr Khan pointed out that GM had already invested about $300 million at the Talegaon facility and the total investment in this plant, including the engine manufacturing facility, was expected to reach $800 million in the next seven years. GM officials said the new plant would have a production capacity of 1,60,000 engines per annum. The capacity will be scaled up to 3 lakh engines per year. Mr Slym said the MoU with the Maharashtra government had taken GM’s total investment in India to $1 billion. The first sets of cars at the Talegaon facility, for which GM had signed an MoU with the state government two years ago, would roll out on September 2, GM officials said. The engine plant is expected to provide direct employment to 1,400 people. Mr Slym also explained the rationale behind GM making huge investments in Maharashtra. “Maharashtra has a very good employee base, infrastructure is cost-effective, the state offers geographical advantage and the vendor base is well-developed,” he pointed out.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Goa being the smallest state in the country and having a complete diffrent culture needs to protect its Identity which is being lost with the influx of non Goans.

Anonymous