Nano may have Ace up its sleeve
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25/09/2008
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Economic Times (New Delhi)
Tata Motors Considering Rollout From Pantnagar, Moves Equipment Out Of Singur
Sutanuka Ghosal KOLKATA
RATAN Tata is yet to officially bring the curtain down on Singur. But behind the scenes, the Tatas have clearly moved on, albeit silently. Information trickling in from the highest echelons of Bombay House suggested Tata Motors is tantalisingly close to rolling out the Nano from Pantnagar. A Tata Motors team is meeting senior bureaucrats of the Uttarakhand government on Thursday to press for a crucial 100-acre plot adjacent to its existing auto facility in Pantnagar.
The Tata mission is to garner the requisite land (1,100 acres approx) to rejig the Pantnagar complex to manufacture both the Ace pick-up truck and Nano in tandem. The Tatas are keen to roll out Nano from Pantnagar in the October-December quarter in step with their original Singur schedule. Early indications are that the plant will be equipped to roll out some 200-300 Nanos per day.
Decibel levels are on the rise at Pantanagar in the run-up to a possible Tata pullout announcement from Singur shortly after Tata Motors MD Ravi Kant returns from an overseas trip on September 30, hinted Tata circles. Uttarakhand Industrial Development principal secretary P C Sharma told ET: