The proposed manufacturing zone near Chennai, to be developed by business space provider Ascendas and a consortium comprising top Japanese corporate finance providers, is expected to attract investments to the tune of around Rs 15,000 crore.
The Tamil Nadu industries department said that its guidance bureau, Ascendas and the Japanese consortium had recently signed a memorandum of understanding to set up an integrated industrial township on around 1,500 acre at the Old Mahabalipuram Road near Chennai with an incremental investment of Rs3,500 crore over the next five years.
“The manufacturing zone will come up within the township and will attract an additional investment of Rs 15,000 crore with an employment potential of about 40,000,” the department said.
The township is being promoted by Ascendas and a consortium comprising Japanese corporate finance providers Mizuho Corporate Bank and JGC Corporation.
Earlier, Chong Siak Ching, chief executive officer and president of Ascendas Pte Limited, said that the state government will allot the land to the company by the second quarter of 2012. “This will be one of the largest investments for us and our tenth project in the country,” she added.
The township will be developed by a joint venture between Ascendas India Development Trust (AIDT), the private property development fund spearheaded by Ascendas, and IREO, along with the Japan consortium. Located 50 kilometre south of Chennai, the project will encompass industrial, business, commercial and residential elements with lifestyle amenities.
The 1,500-acre township will provide eco-friendly infrastructure for the growth of Japanese and international businesses and support a community of more than 40,000. Of the total 1,500 acre, 400 acre is reserved for industrial development and will create employment for around 200,000 people.
Automobile and ancillary, home appliances, electronics, foods, logistics and infrastructure are some of the key industries that are expected to come up in the township, said Yoshihiro Shigehisa, chairman emeritus of JGC Group.
Infrastructure for the project will be completed by the third quarter of 2013. A project facilitation committee will be formed under the industrial guidance bureau of the Tamil Nadu government for uninterrupted power and water supply and to develop other infrastructure.
