Tamil Nadu to have National Investment and Manufacturing Zone

A National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ), a solar power project and a desalination plant will be set up in Ramanathapuram district at a total outlay of Rs.8,025 crore, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa said Thursday.

Jayalalithaa said the NIMZ will be set up at a cost of Rs.6,525 crore in Ramanathapuram which is one of the backward districts of the state.

The state government will also build a 50 MW solar power plant and a 15 million litres per day desalination plant.

Jayalalithaa also said an electronics park will be set up in Krishnagiri district at an outlay of Rs. 920 crore.

She said the project would be implemented jointly by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and GMR Infrastructure on 527 acres of land.

"The central government has granted in-principle clearance for the project. The project is expected to attract an investment of around Rs.7,000 crore and provide direct and indirect employment to around 40,000 people," Jayalalithaa said.

The chief minister also said a TICEL Bio-Park spread over 10 acres would be set up in Coimbatore at a cost of Rs.55 crore while a medical equipment park, housing medical equipment manufacturers, will be built in Kanchipuram district by TIDCO and HLL Life Care Ltd.

According to Jayalalithaa, the cement production capacity of Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd (TNPL), which also produces cement, will be increased by 300 tonnes per day (tpd) to 900 tpd at an outlay of Rs.30 crore.