Voltas, an air-conditioner manufacturer, plans to set up a compressor manufacturing unit in partnership with an international partner and will make an investment of around Rs 500 crore. The Tata Group firm is planning to invest in a joint venture company, with an international partner, which requires PN3 (Press Note 3) approval. For the partnership, company has already filed for PN3 approval and the company is waiting for it. Once it is done, it will be setting up the plant, as per reports. The company plans to invest a minimum of Rs 350 crore on compressor manufacturing and another Rs 150-200 crore for air-conditioning.
The company has committed an additional investment of around Rs 450 crore to 500 crore to the government on the basis of the approval of PN3. It is yet to decide on a place for its compressor manufacturing plant as it is still waiting for the finalisation of the PN3 application. Under that press note, the government had made its prior approval mandatory for foreign investments from countries that share a land border with India, to curb opportunistic takeovers of domestic firms following the COVID-19 pandemic. The government has already approved the proposals of Voltas for manufacturing of cross flow fan (CFF), heat exchangers and plastic moulding components under the PLI Scheme.