Ural keen to set up car mfg unit in Bengal

Kolkata: Ural India is keen on setting up a car manufacturing unit on 1,000 acres in West Bengal, in a tie-up with the Chinese public sector car making company First Auto Work (FAW).

The company is the Indo-Russian joint venture between the Kolkata-based Motijug Group, Uralaz of Russia and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC),

FAW, one of the largest and oldest car manufacturers in China, produces nearly 18 lakh cars annually and has an employee strength of over 1.33 lakh people. Ural India Ltd has an assembling unit for trucks at Haldia. West Bengal Government holds 11 per cent stake in the company through WBIDC.

Apart from locations like Kalyani, Kharagpur and Haldia, the erstwhile location of Tata Motor’s small car factory Singur is also on the radar for setting up the factory, according to company sources. Representatives from the company will visit the probable sites in the next two days before finalising one, a senior company official said.

“Infrastructure at Singur is ready, but we are also examining the other sites,” he said, adding that the company would be ready to set up the unit initially on 600 acres.

A 12-member delegation from China with representatives from FAW as well as Mr J. K. Saraf, Chairman of Ural India Ltd, met the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and the Industry Minister, Mr Nirupam Sen, at the Writers’ Building to discuss the project.

The company officials had earlier met the State Transport Minister, Mr Shubhash Chakrabarty, and the Commerce and Industry Secretary, Mr Sabyasachi Sen, according to company sources. “The project is in an advanced stage of planning and a draft of the Memorandum of Understanding for the proposed project has already been prepared today,” a company official said.

While Mr Saraf pointed out that FAW specialises in making small cars in China, Mr Nirupam Sen said the joint venture company is interested in manufacturing all types of cars in West Bengal.

Meanwhile, another delegation from the Hubei province of China led by its Executive Governor Mr Li Xiansheng met the West Bengal Chief Minister today to discuss bilateral business opportunities. The Chief Minister invited Chinese automobile companies to invest in the proposed automobile ancillary park at Kharagpur. He also said that Chinese investments in electronic and electrical equipment units and in sectors like steel, silk and leather were welcome.