Calcutta, Aug. 8: If ancillaries are shifted out of the Singur complex as Mamata Banerjee has demanded, it will derail efforts to transform the area into an automobile hub, industry analysts have said.

Land has been allotted to 53 suppliers adjacent to the Nano mother plant. Around 30 such units are in various stages of construction at the vendor park spread over 290 acres.

The park will house only Tier-I suppliers, those catering directly to Tata Motors. An equal number or more Tier II suppliers, feeding components to the vendor park, are also expected to set up shop. Some Tier III component makers, supplying to the Tier II plants, are also not ruled out.

The state hasn’t allocated land for the second and third-stage units, likely to be labour-intensive, and they will buy plots directly.

The ancillary units could help attract more auto companies because they will sell not only to Tata Motors but to others as well.

“This has happened everywhere — be it Gurgaon or Chennai. One company sets up a plant, brings in component makers and creates a base which is capitalised by other carmakers later,” an auto industry expert said.

If the Singur vendors leave because of land problems, other auto companies will stay away and Bengal could miss the chance to become a car hub, he said.

The loss will be greater given that ancillary (components) units create 4-5 times more jobs than a mother plant. The Tata Motors unit will employ around 2,000. The vendors could offer up to 10,000 jobs.

In the absence of the ancillary units in Singur, it will be almost impossible for Tata Motors to price the Nano at Rs 1 lakh. Having vendors next door will save the firm transportation and inventory (stocks) costs that will have to incurred if components are procured from elsewhere.

Caparo Engineering, Bosch Chassis Systems, Gabriel, Lumax Industries, Kinetic Engineering, Rasandik Engineering Industries, Rico Engineering, TI Metal Forming, Sona Koyo Steering Systems, Exide, Subros, Beher and Rucha Engineers are among those that will set up units in Singur.