Lotte homes in on Pantnagar for Rs 1,000 crore facility

Lotte India, a South Korean confectionery venture, is looking for land at the industrial hub of Pantnagar in the Kumaon region of Uttaranchal to set up a manufacturing unit with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore.

"A team of Lotte recently visited Pantnagar to look for land for the manufacturing facility," an industrial department official said here today.

The official said the company officials had also held "very preliminary" talks with government functionaries.

The company is looking for 50 acres in Pantnagar and wants to set up a manufacturing facility for its products like biscuits and chocolates.

If the unit does come up, it will be the second major investment in less than six months after the Tatas and Bajaj decided to set up manufacturing facilities at Pantnagar with investments ranging between Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 2,500 crore together.

Lotte India was recently in the news after it wanted to diversify into product categories such as chocolates, biscuits, snack foods and ice-creams. The company is studying the market and will look to roll out its brands in a two- to three-year timeframe. Early next year, Lotte is planning to manufacture and market a range of chewing gums with brands such as Spout and Lotte Xylitol, a sugar-free gum which is a $100-million brand worldwide.

The parent company in South Korea has a huge portfolio of brands, including beverages, bottled water, flavoured water and fruit juices.

However, the government officials said it'd be difficult to expand the Pantnagar industrial estate because 1,000 acres of land had been given to Tata Motors, which would set up its unit to manufacture its Ace vehicles.

A total of 364 companies have proposed investing Rs 3,000 crore at the Pantnagar industrial estate.

The Pantnagar industrial estate has attracted an investment of Rs 500 crore from Bajaj Auto recently, which would establish a manufacturing unit for producing motorbikes. Bajaj Auto is expected to produce 3,000 bikes per day. Of the 364 companies that have proposed to set up units in this industrial estate, nearly 227 of them have taken possession of their industrial plots.

Nearly 107 industries are under construction while 20 companies including Dabur have started production at the industrial estate.