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| Edited By: Hemant Kumar |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 30, 2018, 02:27 AM IST
The state government’s recent road show in Delhi to woo big-ticket investments in the automobile sector has started showing results. A delegation from India’s biggest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero Honda, conducted a preliminary inspection of suitable sites to set up its plant in Karnataka.
The team visited Dharwad and was shown three sites belonging to the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) for setting up its mega two-wheeler plant. The land shown to the Hero Honda team is situated near the commercial vehicles’ plant set up by the Tatas. Though Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu were competing with Karnataka to woo Hero Honda, the initial response of the company to the state’s proposal was extremely positive, sources in the medium and large scale industries department told DNA.
“Karnataka is determined to develop Dharwad as the country’s leading automobile hub. We have made a headstart in wooing the country’s top two-wheeler manufacturer. I had personally held discussions with the top brass of the Hero Honda group recently in Delhi and made a detailed presentation explaining why Dharwad is the best location for their two-wheeler plant. If all goes well, we should soon hear a formal announcement about the setting up of the Rs2,000-crore unit, which could provide direct employment to 800 people,” medium and large scale industries minister, Murugesh Nirani, said.
The government has expressed its readiness to provide the required land near Hubli-Dharwad immediately.
Meanwhile, drug manufacturer Nectar Lifesciences Ltd has evinced interest in setting up a Rs1,500-crore plant in the state to manufacture life-saving drugs. Kapci Coatings, an Egyptian company, has also come forward to set up a paints and decorative coatings unit, with an investment of Rs145 crore, in Karnataka. This will provide employment for 300 people.
Optical storage media manufacturer, Moser Baer, has expressed its readiness to set up a 50mw solar photovoltaic project, the biggest in the state, with an investment of Rs850 crore and with a potential to employ 200 persons.
