General Motors, Mah govt sign MoU

Mumbai, Aug 3 (UNI) The Maharashtra government today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with General Motors to build a state-of-the-art vehicle manufacturing facility at Talegaon in Pune district at an investment of USD 300 mn (Rs 1,300 crore).

An agreement was signed between General Motors India President and Managing Director Rajeev Chaba and Maharashtra Industries Secretary V K Jairath in the presence of Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil and Industries Minister Ashok Chavan this evening.

The plant will have an annual production capacity of 1,40,000 vehicles per year with the capability to expand as per market demands. The plant will employ more than 1,000 people at the outset.

The construction of the 120-acre facility will begin at the end of this month and is expected to be completed in 20 months and production will begin by end of 2008. General Motors will initially manufacture a mini-car in Talegaon for domestic market with a competitive price.

Mr Deshmukh said, ''The presence of General Motors in Maharashtra reaffirms Maharashtra as a leading foreign direct investment in Maharashtra.'' Industries Minister Ashok Chavan on the other hand said, ''We are pround and privileged to have General Motors in Maharashtra which demonstrates the investment-friendly approach of State government.'' While, General Asia Pacific President Nick Reilly said, ''Our new facility will enable us to continue building up our presence in India.'' General Motors employs 3,27,000 people around the world with its headqurter at Detroit. In 2005, 9.17 mn cars and trucks were sold globally under various brands including Buick, Cadilac, Chevrolet among others.

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