Samsung to invest Rs4,915 cr, make Noida manufacturing hub

Consumer electronics major Samsung said on Wednesday it will invest Rs4,915 crore to double its manufacturing capacity for smartphones and refrigerators at its Noida plant in Uttar Pradesh.

Electronics and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who inaugurated the new unit at the facility, said that the manufacturing expansion plan will create 15,000 jobs.

"Inaugurated new Samsung mobile manufacturing unit at Noida. New facility can produce 10 crore phones per year and create 15,000 jobs," he tweeted.

The investment would position the Noida plant as a major production hub.

With about 30 mobile manufacturing companies setting up bases in Noida and Greater Noida, the state government wants to develop these areas as a hub of electronics manufacturing on the lines of Singapore.

The Yogi Adityanath government did its bit to help Samsung set up the project in Noida by waiving the stamp duty the company had to pay for the lease of land for its mega project.

This is part of the chief minister's efforts to get more business into Uttar Pradesh and is the first project under the new Yogi government to get such a help.

Adityanath will also unveil a new industrial policy this month after major departments gave a presentation on the same to the CM on Wednesday.

The Korean firm said that the investment would position the Noida plant as a major production hub and create about 5,000 new jobs.

As a result of the investment spread over the next two years, the production capacity of smartphones will rise to 12 million units a month from the existing five million.

The capacity for refrigerators would double to 3 million units per annum against 1.5 million at present), and for TV panels to 2.6 million units (from 1.3 million, a state official said.

"The investment reaffirms Samsung's commitment to Make- in-India and Make-for-India and to the state of Uttar Pradesh," a company statement said.

The Noida plant was set up in 1996 and is the first of two manufacturing units in India for the company. The plant started with the manufacture of televisions back in 1997, and a mobile phone manufacturing unit was added in 2005.

"The expansion of the plant on an additional 35 acres of land adjacent to the current facility will double the production capacity of both mobile phones and refrigerators," the Samsung statement said.

Besides the factory in Noida, Samsung also has a production unit in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, five R&D centres and one design centre in Noida, employing over 70,000 people in all.

The company's investment proposal was recently approved by the UP government.

"The expansion of the plant will act as a catalyst for the development of a robust electronics manufacturing ecosystem and is expected to generate thousands of new jobs, both direct and indirect, across the country," the statement added.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held at the new site in the presence of union electronics and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, and NITI Aayog chief executive Amitabh Kant.

Speaking on the occasison, H C Hong, President and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia, said, "A bigger manufacturing plant will help us cater to the growing demand for Samsung products across the country".