The company, which entered into a MoU with the Tamil Nadu government in 2006, has almost completed its project on 135 acres and is set to go for trial production by the end of this year, said company sources. The manpower of the Chennai plant will be increased to over 1,000 from the current 500, sources added.

Neeraj Kanwar, managing director of Apollo Tyres, said, "The main reason for this increased investment is because we have decided to nearly double the capacity of truck-bus radial tyres that we had planned to produce here. We see radialisation in the Indian commercial vehicle segment gaining a certain amount of traction and, therefore, the increased outlay and capacity to cater to domestic market needs."

"The all-radial Chennai plant will by far be one of the most modern facilities in this part of the world with a high level of IT usage. We are looking at production from Chennai in the last quarter of this financial year," he added.

An official said the company has so far invested over Rs 700 crore in the Chennai plant and is likely to invest close to Rs 1,000 crore by the end of this fiscal. Upon further expansion, the balance amount would be invested before 2012, the official said.