M&M to set up Rs 1,500 cr unit in Uttaranchal

After setting up its automotive plant for producing three-wheelers at the Haridwar Integrated Industrial Estate (IIE), auto major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will set up its third manufacturing facility in Uttaranchal with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore.

An Uttaranchal industry department official said the company had finalised its proposal following talks between its Chairman Keshub Mahindra and Chief Minister ND Tiwari yesterday.

During the inauguration function of the Haridwar facility last year, Tiwari had urged M&M Managing Director Anand Mahindra to set up its four-wheeler facility in Uttaranchal, which was providing excellent tax incentives to industry. Anand Mahindra had given his consent to the proposal.

For setting up the new unit, the company is looking for 250 acres in places like Haridwar and Pantnagar, where the state government is developing its key industrial estates.

These estates have attracted huge investments from big auto companies like Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda. However, it is not clear which types of vehicles would be produced at the new facility.

Last year, M&M had set up a three-wheeler plant in Haridwar which was the company's fifth full-scale automotive plant with a total investment of Rs 70 crore. The plant was aided by its ancillary unit--Neel Metal Product Ltd, exclusively set up by M&M to supply cabs, cargo bodies and other sub-assemblies and aggregates.

While Hero Honda is setting up its manufacturing facility at Haridwar with an investment of Rs 1,900 crore, Tata Motors would be producing its Ace trucks at Pantnagar with an investment of Rs 25 crore. Bajaj Auto is also investing Rs 500-600 crore at the Pantnagar Industrial estate.