Electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn and the Maharashtra government are likely to sign a deal to set up a manufacturing hub in the state, according to a report by The Economic Times.
According to the report, Foxconn executives held meetings with government officials on July 4 and met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The Taiwan-based contract manufacturer has said it will set up a plant within the special economic zone (SEZ) of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). The company has also bid for a 45-acre plot there, on the outskirts of Mumbai, the report suggests.
Company officials have added that they would eventually require another 200 acres, for which Fadnavis is said to have written to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. The manufacturer of iPhones is also seeking hundreds of acres of additional land outside JNPT from the state, the report adds.
Foxconn had in 2015 announced an investment of $5 billion in the state to set up a manufacturing unit to make mobile phones and allied components. The proposal was expected to help create 50,000 jobs by 2020.
Earlier, the firm had said it will source its engineers from IIT Mumbai while state government officials had said the firm would also be training 1,000 of those who get employment in its factories by taking them to Taiwan University for a bridge course where their skills would be further upgraded.