Gujarat could become auto hub in 3-5 years: Modi

After laying the foundation stone for CEAT's Rs 700-crore new radial tyre plant at Halol about 45 km from here today, the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the state could become an auto hub in next three to five years.
Apart from the presence of General Motors and Asia Motor works, foray of Tata Motors will make Gujarat a large volume player attracting good number of auto-component manufacturers, he said.
Vadodara, Panchmahals, Dohad, Kaira, Bharuch, Narmada and Anand districts, having large percentage of tribal population, are going to benefit most with huge investments likely to take place in these districts after successful fourth Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit (VGGIS) that would attract an investment of more than Rs 12 lakh crore, he said.
Modi said all expectations and projections about VGGIS were cast aside by virtual tsunami of investment MoUs to the tune of Rs 12 lakh crore signed at the end of the summit.
Without naming critics of VGGIS, Modi said that the investment amount has come on the back of advice that the state should not hold the event this year in view of the liquidity squeeze all over the world.
Investments will also take place in 1,600 km long coastal areas of the state, Modi said.
The recession and economic meltdown has benefited the state as it has learnt the way how to fight it and meet the challenges, he added.
Kutch district, bordering Pakistan, is the only district in the country having five airports and highest population growth due to heavy investments taking place there, said the chief minister. Modi asked Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG enterprise, to invest in the entertainment sector and revive Lucky Film Studio located in Halol, which is closed now.
The big-ticket investors in auto and engineering sector are Ruchi group (Rs 5,512 crore), Larsen and Toubro (Rs 4,030 crore), Jindal group (Rs 3,700 crore), Welspun (Rs 350 crore) and Austral group (Rs 2,027 crore), official sources said.
Ruia group will come up with wagons and coach manufacturing facility and aero tyre manufacturing at Dholra.
Rolex Rings Ltd has committed an investment of Rs 1,000 crore for auto-component manufacturing and components for bearing industry at Rajkot, they said.