MUMBAI -- Midea Group, a manufacturer of household appliances from China, is to invest 8 billion rupees ($123.5 million) setting up a factory in Pune that should be operational by the end of 2018, and is expected to employ 500 people over five years.

Built on a 43-acre site in western India, the plant will have the capacity to manufacture 500,000 refrigerators annually, 600,000 washing machines, and one million water heaters and other appliances. There will also be a research and development center for India-specific products.

"The new home appliances manufacturing plant in India will enable us to offer designed-in-India product solutions to our valued customers," said Andy Gu, Midea's group vice president.

Gu said Midea plans to be a "significant player" in the Indian home appliance market, but will also be looking for export opportunities. The group also plans to manufacture compressors and electric motors locally in due course.

Midea Group first entered India in 2012 in a joint venture with Carrier, a manufacturer of air conditioners from the U.S. Carrier Midea India plans to strengthen its market position in the residential air conditioning and white goods market with further investment of 5 billion rupees over the next five or six years.

Founded in 1968 in Guangdong, Midea today has over 200 subsidiaries and 60 branches overseas. With 10 strategic business units, it specializes in consumer appliances for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, as well as robotics and industrial automation systems. Group sales reached about $24 billion last year.