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Journalism of Courage
Having signed its MoU with the Maharashtra government in July last year to set up a greenfield plant at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar at an investment of around Rs 20,000 crore, Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s (TKM) plant is well on track as the company has already taken possession of over 800 acres of land last month. The Japanese auto major has also completed the fencing work. Confirming the development around land possession within less than a year of signing of MoU, Swapnesh R Maru, deputy managing director, TKM, said that it is not just TKM that has received the possession of land, but a majority of part suppliers too have got access to land at the location, effectively setting the ball rolling on what could be the country’s newest auto hub.
“The administrative machinery has been very active post MoU signing and we cleared all formalities on land and 800 acres of land was handed to us last month. It’s a pretty good timing because the land acquisition tends to be a complex (process). As we speak, we have finished fencing work and right now we are looking at levelling of land. Many of our suppliers have also got their land,” Maru told The Indian Express.
He added that as the entire ecosystem comes up, beyond the approximately 800 acres for the TKM plant, another 400-500 acres is meant for the parts suppliers. “This will also add to the overall investment as the suppliers will invest around Rs 4,000-5,000 crore on top of TKM’s investment,” he said.
Speaking about the products that would be rolled out at the new plant, Maru said that call is still being debated internally at Toyota Motor Corp. “The planning is going on at the global headquarters… We have to get our product thinking right and we are considering what type of product is suited for the years to come. By early next year there may be clarity on that,” said Maru, adding that typically a greenfield automobile plant takes at least 2.5 to 3 years as it is about development of the entire ecosystem.
Speaking on the reason for picking Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra for their new plant, Maru said that the consideration was its central geographical location, connectivity with the rest of the country and proximity to ports. “As we felt the need to expand our manufacturing footprint and we looked at many other states, the central location of Maharashtra was key and adding to that was the proximity to ports. Besides, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is well connected through Samruddhi Mahamarg,” he said.
Maru further said TKM will also set up a skilling institute next to the plant, where 18-19 year-old will reside and get training. “To begin with, we are looking at 1,000-2,000 people and we may even send them to Japan for training and skill them to be master global technicians, and then put them on line,” Maru said.
