Blue Star to set up new plant in S. India.

Air-conditioning and commercial refrigeration major Blue Star Ltd. will set up its eighth manufacturing plant in South India with an investment of Rs. 150 crore.

'We are scouting for land to set up this plant which would have a capacity to manufacture five lakh units annually,' said B Thiagarajan, Executive Director and President, AC & R Products Business.

The company currently has seven manufacturing plants: two each in Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra, and one each in Uttarakhand, Bharuch (Gujarat) and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

In view of the recent withdrawal of excise duty concession and the dollar appreciation, the prices of air-conditioners in India are likely to increase marginally in the coming summer season, he said.

HBL