DHAKA: Japanese automaker Suzuki plans to invest tens of millions of dollars to build a second plant in Myanmar, seeking to make quick inroads in the country’s growing market.

A report said on Saturday, reports The Straits Times.

The small-car maker has already secured a roughly 20ha plot at the Thilawa special economic zone southeast of Yangon for the new plant, the Nikkei business daily said.

Construction is expected to start later this year, with the facility slated to come online in 2017, the newspaper added.

Suzuki is expected to invest several billion yen and hire about 300 staff, aiming to increase Suzuki's output in Myanmar by more than five times, it said.

At the new plant, Suzuki plans to produce some 10,000 cars a year, including the Ertiga, a seven-seat compact, by assembling imported parts.

BDST: 1321 HRS, APR 04, 2015