Top brass of nation's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki in a meeting held with the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi today expressed its intention to set up a manufacturing plant in the state having production capacity of 10 lakh units per annum, expandable upto 20 lakh.

Managing director of Maruti Suzuki Shinzo Nakanishi and chairman R C Bhargava during their meeting with the chief minister Narendra Modi said that Gujarat would be their first preference for the expansion project, a statement released by the state government said.

They hoped that the location of the site and other formalities for the phase-I of the project would get completed in three months and the plant could go on stream in five years, it said adding the plant would generate employment for nearly 1.50 lakh people.

Official sources close to the development said the company has zeroed in on a location near Sanand where Tata Motors' plant to make Nano is also situated.

The Gujarat government and the company top brass have expressed satisfaction over today's meeting.

"The attitude of the chief minister and the government of Gujarat has been very very positive," R C Bhargava, told reporters after meeting Modi.

"For that reason, Gujarat certainly is a very strong probability for our expansion project," he said.

If the decision to set up the plant in Gujarat is finalised, it will be the first major investment by Maruti outside Haryana, where it has been present since its inception in 1983.

The car maker has expressed desire to set up a skill development centre and vendor's park too, the official statement said.

Speaking about the project, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) chairman R C Bhargava said that automotive ancillary industry, infrastructure and other employment generation activities are sure to grow around the plant, as has been the case with its factory in Haryana.

In 2010-11, the company's sales soared 24.81 per cent to 12.71 lakh units from 10.18 lakh units in the previous fiscal.

Domestic sales increased by 30.08 per cent to 11.32 lakh units from 8.70 lakh units in the previous fiscal.