Malaysia's Naza wants more land for India plant

Malaysian auto maker Naza Automotive, which plans to build an assembly plant in Tamil Nadu, has requested additional land for its expansion exercise, according to a Malaysian minister.

Naza has requested for more land and the Tamil Nadu government is likely to approve it. "First they asked for 150 acres of land, which the state government was prepared to give...Now they have asked for 200 acres and I don't think there will be any problems," Malaysian Works Minister S Samy Vellu said here after launching the International Construction Week 2006 here.

Naza plans to set up an assembly plant in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu to produce its Naza and Kia car models, Malaysia's state-run Bernama news agency reported today.

The Tamil Nadu government has also requested more information from the auto firm and once it is provided, the project would get the go-ahead, Vellu said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi would decide on a new date to for the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU). Initially, Naza and the state government agreed to sign an MoU on Sept 11 but this was postponed.

Samy Vellu said he also met Karunanidhi last week during his visit to India and discussed the matter, Bernama reported.