Ascendas, consortium to set up integrated township in Chennai

Business space provider Ascendas and a consortium comprising top Japanese corporate finance providers -- Mizuho Corporate Bank and  JGC Corporation -- have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu government for setting up an integrated township project near here.

The agreement was signed in the presence of chief minister J Jayalalithaa and Yukio Edano, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Karen Tan, Singapore’s High Commissioner to India. This will be one of the biggest projects, which the new Tamil Nadu government, which took charge on May 2011, has attracted. The project would see an investment of around $700 million (around Rs 3,517 crore).

Chong Siak Ching, chief executive officer and president, Ascendas Pte Ltd, said the land would be made available by the government by the second quarter of 2012. "This will be one of the largest investments for us in the country and will be 10th project by the company in India,” she added.

The township will be developed by the joint venture between Ascendas India Development Trust, the private property development fund spearheaded by Ascendas, and IREO, along with the Japan consortium.

Located 50 km south of Chennai, the development will integrate 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 has been 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 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 state government for uninterpreted power and water supply and to develop other infrastructures.