Calcutta, Feb. 24: Asian Paints is looking to scale up its domestic operations by setting up a facility in South India.

The company has planned an investment of Rs 2,300 crore to set up an integrated plant and has zeroed in on Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

'To meet the demand in the southern and eastern parts of the country, the company is exploring the possibility of setting up an integrated paint manufacturing plant in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The company is in advanced stages of negotiations with the respective state governments. The company will decide the location of the plant based on the availability of land, other factors and regulatory approvals,' Asian Paints today said in a statement to the BSE.

Besides adequate demand for paints, availability of land, power and water are the key considerations for setting up a paint-manufacturing unit. The company has no plant in the eastern part of the country.

'The approximate investment at current prices for setting up a plant with a capacity of 6 lakh kilo litre per annum will be Rs 2,300 crore over a period of 5-7 years,' the company said.

Asian Paints has eight manufacturing plants in India, of which two are located in the south-Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu. The paint maker has 23 manufacturing plants globally.

Besides scaling up domestic operations, the company is planning to expand into other emerging markets such as Africa and South East Asia.