Debashis Konar/TNN
 
Kolkata, Nov 5: Nano may have veered off Singur, but there’s a sliver of hope for the troubled land yet. 

Representatives of a Chinese automobile major met chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday, seeking 600 acres — about the same amount that is ‘undisputed’ in Singur — to set up a small car factory in Bengal.

While the government hopes the company would slip into the Nano site vacated by Tata Motors, it will also showcase other locations at Kalyani, Kharagpur and Haldia.

China’s First Automobile Works (FAW), in collaboration with Ural India, an Indo-Russian joint venture, wants to set up a Rs 1,500-crore automobile manufacturing unit in Bengal. And, the first vehicle to roll out of the plant in 2010 will most likely be a small car priced at a cool Rs 1.6 lakh.

A tie-up between Ural India, in which the state government has 11%, and FAW will be formalized through an MoU in the first phase. J K Saraf, chairman of Ural India and Ren Diansheng, vice-director of FAW, led the five-member delegation of the company that called on Bhattacharjee.

The company is expected to start manufacturing small cars and then go on to buses. “We plan to price the small car at Rs 1.6 lakh to keep it competitive,” Saraf said. However, Ural is yet to decide on the name of the car.

The officials, who are to scout for land in Kharagpur and Kalyani, are not talking about Singur to avoid getting into a controversy. “But, if the state government is willing to give us the plot at a cheap rate with other benefits, we can discuss it further,” said an Ural official. “No one wants trouble and so we are keeping our options open on Kharagpur and Kalyani.”

Industries minister Nirupam Sen said company officials were visiting different parts of the country and were keen on investing in the state.