The Hindu Business Line : Nokia plant may go operational in April

Mr Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology; Mr Raimo Puntala (2nd from right), Senior Vice-President, Operations and Logistics, Nokia Corporation ; Mr Jukka Lehtela (extreme left), Director, India Operations, Nokia India Pvt Ltd, at the Nokia facility at Sriperumbudur near Chennai on Tuesday. - - Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai , Oct. 12

NOKIA'S Sriperumbudur plant near Chennai is likely to begin manufacturing operations in March or April 2006, according to the Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mr Dayanidhi Maran.

The construction plan is a little ahead of the original schedule, he told newspersons on Tuesday after reviewing the plant's construction work. The Prime Minister and his Finnish counterpart are likely to attend the plant's inauguration ceremony, he said.

Over 10,000 people would be employed within the Nokia Special Economic Zone, which would house the company's plant and also its component suppliers, the Minister said.

Nokia and its component vendors would together bring in an investment of $300 million (over Rs 1,300 crore) over the next few years. Nokia could also make telecom network equipment in India, he said.

In April, Nokia announced its decision to set up the Sriperumbudur plant, which is the company's 10th such facility in the world. The plant, including component vendors, would be located within the 210.87-acre SEZ, he said.

Leighton Contractors, which in late May was awarded the contract to build the Nokia plant, has deployed over 1,000 people at the site in Chennai. Leighton is on course to meet its target of completing the factory in the first half of 2006, according to a press release.

It said Leighton, Australia's largest project management and construction contracting company, had carried out the factory development work on an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) basis and all design had been carried out in Chennai using local resources and expertise.

Site infrastructure works such as roads, drainage and hydraulic services were well advanced. Substantial work had been completed on procurement activities covering both international and local supplies.

The release said construction on the facility would be completed over eight months with Nokia getting partial occupancy of select infrastructure and administrative buildings within five months of construction.

The Nokia plant will have a floor space of 29,000 sq m. Nokia is ahead of its recruitment targets and has begun training employees who will assume key responsibilities at the plant, according to the release.

Nokia expects to invest about $150 million (about Rs 650 crore). It foresees ramping up the factory gradually and the work force reaching about 2,000 when production reached full scale, according to the release.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page