ICI India Limited, a subsidiary of AkzoNobel NV of Netherlands, plans to nearly double its production capacity by setting up a new decorative paints plant.

The company which has existing capacity of 120 million litres would have a new plant by 2010.

However the investment details and location of the plant were yet to be finalised. ICI India has plants located in Mumbai, Chandigarh and Hyderabad

The company enjoys a less than 15 per cent market share in the decoratives segment and is the market leader in the refinished paints segment. The company also has plans to open 300 design studios or brand stores over the next three years.

Last year, the two largest paints companies in the country, Asian Paints and Kansai Nerolac announced setting up new plants.

Separately, the company was planning to implement a 2-3 per cent price rise in the emulsions segment effective from August, on the back of soaring crude oil prices, from which major inputs are derived.

The Crude oil prices, which have nearly doubled in the past six months, were presently trading at $131 per barrel.