TN woos Foxconn to revive Nokia plant

Keen to revive the Nokia factory near here, the Tamil Nadu government will hold talks with Taiwanese electronic manufacturer Foxconn this month-end to set up its manufacturing unit at the premises, which is lying defunct for years.

A high-level delegation of officials from the Industries Department and from the team overseeing the second edition of the Global Investors' Meet to be held in January next year will be in Taipei during July 29-31 to woo Taiwanese investors to set up factories in Tamil Nadu.

“The major agenda of the delegation is to meet with the top brass of Foxconn with a request to utilise the Nokia facility, which is lying vacant, for its second manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu. Our officials will hold detailed talks with the company and ensure that the factory is set up at the now defunct facility,” Industries Minister M C Sampath told DH.

Nokia's massive facility at Sriperumbudur, 50 km from Chennai, has been lying inoperative for the past four years due to a Rs 21,000 crore tax dispute, and it can now get a fresh lease of life after the Indian and Finnish governments have agreed to settle the issue once and for all. At one point, the plant was Nokia's largest facility when it was the undisputed leader in the mobile phone market.

Sampath said the Tamil Nadu government had approached Foxconn way back in 2016 during J Jayalalithaa's regime for reviving the Nokia facility. “Our officials have been persuading Foxconn to use the facility, but things could not move since the tax dispute was not resolved. Now that the dispute has been settled, we have launched fresh efforts,” he said.

Sources said that four senior officials, including a seasoned bureaucrat who was credited with the success of the 1st edition of GIM, will be part of the delegation. If all goes well, the sources said, the agreement could be made part of the 2nd edition of GIM. The delegation will also meet with other Taiwanese companies asking them to set up their shops in the state.

If Foxconn agrees to revive the Nokia plant, it would be its second facility in Chennai with the existing one providing employment to 6,000 people. The second facility at the former Nokia facility might generate 30,000 jobs, according to industry insiders.

The now-defunct Nokia factory would be best suited for Foxconn since the Taiwanese company can use the facility to compliment its manufacturing capabilities at its own plant located just a few kilometres away. Foxconn already has a manufacturing facility at Andhra Pradesh's Sri City, just 70 km from Chennai, that produces handsets for the likes of Xiaomi, Nokia and Gionee.