New Delhi  - European brick-maker Wienerberger announced plans Wednesday to set up a manufacturing plant with an initial investment of 900 million rupees (about
22 million dollars) in India, news reports said.

Wienerberger, a leading producer of clay hollow bricks in Europe, would be running operations in India through a wholly-owned subsidiary, PTI news agency reported from Bangalore.

The first plant, to be set up at Kunigal, near Bangalore, would have an annual output of 100,000 tons in its first phase, PTI quoted Wienerberger official Ingo Hofmaier as saying.

Hofmaier said commercial production would begin by end-2008 and the company already had the Indian government's approval to double the plant's capacity in the second phase. Clay for the plant would be sourced locally.

The Kunigal plant would be Wienerberger's first Asian facility. The company has 263 plants in 26 countries.

"The demand for eco-friendly building materials is on the rise globally. In India, the birthplace of clay brick architecture, clay is still the most preferred building material," Hofmaier said, adding that the company had a long-term interest in the Indian building market. (dpa)