A Matter Of Convenience
No wonder then that auto ancillary parks are being mooted around the country. Two such parks on the cards are the Mahindra Industrial Park near the Mahindra Ford plant at Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai and the hi-tech Industrial Model Township (IMT) at Manesar in Gurgaon district, promoted by the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC).
The Rs 400-crore IMT will be ready in three years. While the Rs 200-crore Mahindra park will take five years though the first phase will be ready in three years.
The parks are part of the state governments efforts to woo industry, especially the auto makers. So when Tamil Nadu lured away the Hyundai and Ford car projects from contenders like Maharashtra, the next step was to set up an industrial park with international facilities for the ancillary makers.
The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (Tidco) joined hands with the Mahindra group to float Mahindra Industrial Park with an authorised capital of Rs 25 crore. While Mahindra has a 40 per cent stake, Tidco holds 11 per cent and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (ILFS), 30 per cent. The balance 19 per cent is to be sold, possibly to a foreign developer with the requisite expertise. Tidco will help in acquiring land and getting government clearances while ILFS will help with funding.
In the case of IMT, HSIDC has appoined Feedback-HSS Integrated as consultants and development managers to the project. This is a 51:49 joint-venture between domestic project management consultancy, Feedback Ventures, and Malaysian consultants, HSS Integrated.
Both parks are not purely auto ancillary parks though the developers are banking on auto vendors to occupy a large base. The 1,250 acre Chennai park will encompass light to medium engineering industries. The criteria is they should not be heavy polluters. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board is designing the norms and will sanction all projects.
HSIDC has acquired over 1,736 acres for IMT, which is conceptualised as an integrated self-contained park with four industrial clusters: auto-components, light engineering, textiles and electronics. Its proximity to Delhi airport, just 10 km away, is expected to attract export units.
Both parks will be self-contained with superior facilities. At IMT, HSIDC has reserved 900 acres as the industrial zone while 250 acres is earmarked for industrial housing. It aims to provide high-quality industrial and social infrastructure. So a 50-metre green belt will separate the industrial zone from the residential one. Plus there will be wide roads, independent water and sewage facilities and a power distribution system with a 220 kv substation.
On the social front, a recreation park, including a club, will be developed on 25 acres, apart from a school, shopping mall and health facilities. HSIDC has even planned a helipad.
The Mahindra park may not be as ambitious but is equally comprehensive. Around 10 per cent acrea will be left open as lung space with roads occupying another 15 per. Amenities will cover two per cent of the space.
As per international norms, if you are developing over 1,000 acres, you can sell up to 75 per cent of the land, says one official. That means, the developers will sell around 800 acres. The sale of plots is expected to commence this month.
The parks logistics will take into account heavy trailer movement. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has assured power supply of 120 MW but if the developers plan another 50 MW power station, costs could escalate by nearly Rs 150 crore.
The master plan is being prepared by Singapore-based JTC International, which has set up similar estates in South-East Asia.
Feedback HSS-Integrated is also working on a detailed plan for IMT. It has invited tenders for pre-qualification of contractors for infrastructure development. By mid-1998, applications for allotment of plots will be invited. But around 70 acres has already been allotted to some auto ancillary units. These include Jay Bharat Maruti, Denso Haryana and Bharat Seats. Another company, NHK-Jai Springs, has even begun construction on its 10-acre plot.
Both developers, then, are busy wooing investors, especially the auto ancillary industry.
Two industrial parks near Chennai and Gurgaon are wooing the auto ancillary industry.