Hero Honda to expand Haridwar facility

Hero Honda has decided to expand its Haridwar manufacturing facility after resolving issues with the State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Ltd (Sidcul) to retain its hold over the 94 acres of vacant land.

After speaking with state government officials, the company deposited Rs 32.5 crore as land premium to retain its hold over the vacant land for which it was served notices by Sidcul. Barring a minor dispute over 22 acres, most of the concerns have been resolved with Hero Honda, official sources said.

Uttarakhand Principal Secretary (Industries) P C Sharma confirmed that Hero Honda had deposited Rs 32.5 crore to expand its Haridwar unit.

The 94 acres at the Haridwar industrial plant of Hero Honda had become a bone of contention with Sidcul, which had served a series of notices to the company for getting the land premium. Following this, the auto giant had held talks with state government officials to end the stalemate.

Sharma said the company would carry out considerable expansion at its Haridwar unit which would create vast opportunities for employment in the state.

Sidcul, the state government’s nodal agency for industrial development, had allotted 265 acres to Hero Honda for setting up a manufacturing facility at Haridwar in 2006. According to Sidcul’s latest notice, the group set up its facility on only 119-120 acres and kept around 50 acres for its vendors, the land premium for which has been paid to Sidcul. For the remaining 94 acres of land, Hero Honda paid Rs 32.5 crore against Sidcul’s earlier estimate of Rs 50 crore.

Hero Honda Motors Ltd and its ancillaries have already invested Rs 1,900 crore in the manufacturing facility. This is in keeping with the commitment made to the state government at the inception of the plant.

The state-of-the-art plant, which went on stream on April 8, 2008, has scaled up rapidly and is already producing more than 4,000 two-wheelers per day.