By IANS,
Gandhinagar : Global automobile major Peugeot Citroen Automobiles (PCA) Thursday signed an agreement with the Gujarat government to set up an automobile manufacturing plant near Sanand at a cost of Rs.4,000 crore.
Welcoming Peugeot’s entry in the state, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi expressed the confidence that Gujarat would become a global automobile manufacturing hub. “The global auto major’s entry after Ford and India’s own Tata proves our point that Gujarat has emerged as leading investment destination,” he added.
The fully integrated manufacturing unit, the first one in India, will be set up on a 584-acre plot. It will encompass a cutting edge vehicle manufacturing facility integrating stamping, body paint and assembly operations with an initial capacity of 165 000 vehicles per year. Additionally, an engine and gearbox plant using the latest and most advanced technologies, which the Peugeot Group is reputed for, will help constitute a full-fledged modern industrial automotive facility. GIDC has reserved another 25-acre land for ancillary industry. PCA envisages exporting 25 percent of the production, paving the way for Gujarat emerging as an automobile export hub, a spokesperson for the state government said.
This plant will provide direct employment to 5,000 people and indirect employment to 25,000 people. The construction near Sanand is scheduled to begin this year end and the project will be commissioned by end of 2013, it was pointed out.
The agreements were signed by Gujarat’s Principal Secretary for Industry Maheshwar Sahu and Vice President of Emerging Market Programs & India of Peugeot Citroen Automobiles, Frederic Fabre.
It was also decided that the government and PCA will set up an international level Automotive Skill Development Institute in PPP mode.