Kirloskar, Toyota Await Signal From Fipb

Kirloskar Group and the Japanese Toyota Corporation will seek approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for the joint venture agreement they signed on Monday for automobile production to cater to the Indian market.

``The Kirloskar-Toyota combine has not received FIPB approval for their automobile project as yet. As soon as the agreement is signed in Tokyo on Monday, they will be approaching the FIPB,'' a senior government official had told Business Standard.

The venture, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd, touted to be the single largest foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country, is expected to bring in a whopping Rs 6,000 crore.

The combine will initially pump in around Rs 820 crore to start up the project and subsequently invest in three distinct phases.

The project will manufacture the 10-seater multi-purpose vehicle modelled on the Toyota's Kijang.

With an initial production of 50,000 units a year, it will be in the range of 1,500-2,000 cc.

The plant coming up on 525 acres in an industrial township at Bidadi, will initially run on a captive power plant.

It will eventually be serviced by the Bidadi combined cycle power plant to be set up by the Karnataka Power Corporation (KPC).

When the plant goes on stream by 1999 end, the power requirement will be 40 mw a day, a government official said.