Samsung Electronics on Tuesday said it has made an investment of Rs 1,588 crore in India to set up a new compressor manufacturing facility which will be spread over 22 acres in Sriperumbudur on the outskirts of Chennai and will have a capacity to produce 8 million compressor units a year and will be expanded in the future.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin asked Samsung Electronics to set up a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu while addressing the media as the consumer electronics and smartphones brand signed an MoU with the government to set up the new compressor manufacturing facility.

Compressors produced at the plant will be used in refrigerators that Samsung manufactures in India and also be exported, the top leadership of the company said while adding that the plant would provide employment to around 600 people in the State.

“I call upon Samsung to diversify and increase their manufacturing capacity in the State,” the Chief Minister said. "This investment will also create new job opportunities and increase the State’s economy and manufacturing capacity."

He said he was happy that the company’s investment in this year has increased to Rs 1,800 crore.

Ken Kang, president and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, said the new investment of Rs 1,588 crore was a testimony to the company’s commitment to the people of Tamil Nadu who had been their long-standing partners since 2007.

“This new compressor manufacturing facility will help us cater to the growing demand for Samsung’s innovative digital appliances across the country and also drive exports,” he said.

The company signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Tamil Nadu for the new plant. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin as well as the Minister for Industries, Thangam Thennarasu and the Additional Chief Secretary, Industries, S Krishnan, Tamil Nadu Industrial Guidance and Export Promotion Bureau Managing Director, Pooja Kulkarni, State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Managing Director, T Anand and well as Samsung Chennai Factory Managing Director, ByongJin Kong were present at the MoU signing ceremony held in Chennai.