Gadkari calls for investments from Tata Group in Nagpur

Mumbai: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has sought investments from the Tata Group in and around Nagpur, citing strengths like infrastructure, land availability and connectivity through a letter to Tata Sons Chairman, said a press release. The letter shared with the media on Saturday comes amid Maharashtra losing several big projects to neighbouring Gujarat, like investments over Rs 1.5 lakh crore from Foxconn-Vedanta on chip manufacturing and the Rs 22,000-crore aircraft manufacturing project where the Tata Group has tied up with Airbus.

Gadkari writes letter to seek investment from Tata Group

In the letter written on October 7, Gadkari, who is Minister for Road Transport and Highways, said group companies engaged in businesses like steel, auto, consumer products, IT services and aviation can choose to invest in Nagpur, it added.

In the letter, Gadkari said there are over 3,000 acres of land in the multi-modal international Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) SEZ and non-SEZ area and added that already a lot of companies have set base in the vicinity.

Gadkari asks Tata to explore various investment opportunities in Nagpur

"All Tata Group companies like Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consumer Products, Voltas, Titan Industries, Big Basket may enjoy the strengths of Nagpur like overnight connectivity with 350 districts of six states, lower rates of land, manpower and warehousing," the minister said in the letter.

Underlining that the group companies have already been present in central India's Nagpur for over a century, Gadkari told Chandrasekaran that the Tata Group's airline ventures Air India, Vistara and AirAsia India can cut costs by making Nagpur as a hub of their operations and choosing to park aircraft at night.

Air India already has a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at MIHAN, Gadkari said, stressing that considering the expansion plans of the group in the sector, more MROs can be considered.

Separately, the group can also look at large warehousing for aviation spares for its own use and also for other airliners, he said.

He said the group can also look at entering container manufacturing, saying supply from Tata Steel is possible in the Nagpur region, which augurs well for the business.

TCS can augment its presence in the MIHAN area courtesy the quality education institutes in the area, Gadkari wrote.

(With PTI inputs)

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