Videocon gets land for Navi Mumbai LCD project

Mumbai: Videocon Industries Ltd will go ahead with its proposed Rs8,000 crore LCD and semi-conductor production facility at Navi Mumbai, following the state government's approval of land allocation by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) for the project.

The consumer durables maker will also get Rs2,000 crore as central grant for the project, which has been opposed by revenue minister Narayan Rane. The minister has since resigned from the state cabinet, making an issue of the land being sold at what he described as a throwaway price.

Though Videocon Industries had offers from other states to locate the project, it was keen to locate this first of its kind project in Maharashtra, chairman Venugopal N Dhoot told business channel NDTV Profit.

''I have had calls from the Italian government to set up the LCD plant. Also, states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal showed immense interest but we decided to stay in Maharashtra," he said.    

The plant, with a capacity to produce 200 million units annually of LCDs, mirco circuits and semi conductors, is expected to go on stream in the next three years.

The Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display (TFT LCD) project will be the fourth project in the world after the ones in Korea, Taiwan and Japan. The project will occupy 275 acre of land in Navi Mumbai and will generate employment for 10,000 people, Dhoot said.    

Videocon plans to raise Rs6,000 crore through debt, equity and public issue while Rs2,000 crore will come as central grant.

CIDCO, the project partner, will have a share of 26 per cent or Rs260 crore and the Videocon will have a share of 34 per cent or Rs340 crore. The public will hold the remaining 40 per cent.

Videocon expects to export about 50 per cent of the production.