India's top business conglomerate, the $66 billion-Tata Group is set to expand its business operations in Africa and has plans of investing at least $800 million over the next few years in the auto, hospitality, metal and IT sectors.

Leading the charge is Tata Group's automotive arm, Tata Motors, which plans to use a newly acquired manufacturing facility in South Africa, for assembling its range of buses, trucks and even perhaps, the newly unveiled ultra low-cost car Nano.

During the first India-Africa Summit that concluded recently in New Delhi, Tata Motors' managing director, Ravi Kant said the facility in Rosslyn, near Pretoria, South Africa, which was acquired from Nissan Motor in 2006, is expected to be operational very soon.

Tata Motors will invest $100 million on the facility, media reports said.

Tata Motors, which recently acquired Ford's British marques Land Rover and Jaguar for $2.3 billion, said it would start assembling pickup trucks in Senegal, where it had previously supplied completely knocked down (CKD) kits of buses.

According to Kant, the company was conducting a feasibility study for assembling semi-knocked down (SKD) kits of commercial vehicles in Congo, and will start selling cars there from this fiscal year, possibly even the low-cost Nano.

"Africa is a key market for Tata Motors. We have a long history in Africa and we are supplying trucks and buses for public transport. Our buses and vehicles are plying in the continent for many decades. We want to take part in the development and growth of Africa," Kant said, adding, "One opportunity could be to take part in personal transportation, in which Nano can play a role. We will be pleased to have the Nano in many African countries."

Besides looking at the possibility of commencing its CKD vehicle assembly operations in Kenya, Tata Motors is also planning to expand its business operations in Ghana, Uganda, Angola and Algeria, a company official said.

The Tata Group, which operates in more than 80 countries across six continents, employing over 300,000 people and having business interests that include steel, automotive, technology, consumer products, energy, hospitality and beverages, is also planning to open three new hotels in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg at an investment of $115 million.

According to Syamal Gupta, chairperson, Tata International Limited and director, Tata Sons, the group is also constructing a $100 million-ferrochrome steel plant at Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa and the facility is expected to be complete by next year.