Motorola to set up unit in Tamil Nadu

By agencies   |   Thursday, 08 June 2006, 19:30 IST
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CHENNAI: The worldÂ’s second largest mobile phone maker Motorola today announced plans to set up a production facility in Tamil Nadu with an initial investment of $30 million that will be scaled up to $100 million in phases. The company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government in the presence of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. The plant, to be set up on 70 acres in a special economic zone (SEZ) in Sriperumbudur, about 80 km from here, will manufacture a wide range of Motorola products, including software, mobile phones, play stations and networks. Motorola's manufacturing facility will be a catalyst in bringing the highest level of technology and electronic manufacturing into India, said Union Minister of Telecommunications Dayanidhi Maran told reporters. Motorola India chairman Firdose Vandrevala said the firm hoped to produce sub-$-30 mobiles which would "help bridge the digital divide" and provide "rural connectivity" and "jobs to the unconnected". Motorola promised to create 3,000 jobs in the first phase of its investments in the state and scale this up to 7,000 in the second phase. The Sriperumbudur plant will become operational by 2007 and manufacture a million mobile phone sets in the first year. It will also manufacture all models of Motorola phones for immediate export to the Middle East and Africa, company officials said. "India is an important market for Motorola," a company statement said, adding that it was only keeping its commitment to the country by choosing Tamil Nadu for its new manufacturing facility.