Chennai, Jan 18 (IANS): Japan's multi-product Daicel Corporation will set up an automotive airbag inflator plant near here at an investment of Rs 230 crore.

"In the first phase the investment will be Rs.230 crore. The focus will be on the domestic market. Based on the demand we will look at other markets," an official told IANS on Monday.

The plant owned by Daicel Safety Systems India Pvt. Ltd, will come up at CapitalLand's OneHub Chennai, an industrial township located near here.

The proposed plant is expected to go on stream by December 2023.

According to Daicel Safety official, the company supplies its products to tier I vendor for automotive manufacturers. The company's airbag inflators can be found in all the major Japanese and Korean car makers in India.

He declined to comment on the proposed plant's production capacity.

"Until now, we have been supplying products to the Indian market from our production site in Thailand and other countries. However, due to the growth potential of the Indian automobile market, and the need to strengthen automobile manufacturer and airbag module manufacturer supply chains in India, we have decided to establish a local production site at OneHub Chennai," Takase Yoshifumi, Managing Director, India Operations, Daicel Corporation said.

"We will further strengthen our presence in the Indian market through stable production and supply of products, contributing to the development of the Indian economy through both inflator production and parts' procurement in the country," Yoshifumi added.

"We welcome Daicel to India and join OneHub Chennai's growing community of leading multi-national companies. OneHub Chennai offers the right eco-system and plug-and-play infrastructure for the company's manufacturing plant," Vinamra Srivastava, CEO, Business Parks, CapitaLand India said.

The 1,250 acre business city OneHub Chennai (OHC) is developed by CapitaLand in a joint venture with IREO and Japanese Consortium comprising Mizuho Bank and JGC Corporation.