CII Coimbatore zone to draft feasibility report for SEZ

In an effort to showcase the potential of Coimbatore to companies interested in investing in the region, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Coimbatore zone, would prepare a report this year on the feasibility for a special economic zone (SEZ) here for the engineering units.

Addressing a press conference, Jayakumar Ramdass, chairman, CII, said that only about 250 acres were needed for an industry-specific SEZ and that the land available near Pollachi and Tirupur might be used for setting up the SEZ.

About 30 export-oriented engineering units were functioning in Coimbatore and some of them had already started operations in Chennai and Kochi SEZs.

The CII would hold meetings with the exporting units to find out details about their operations and then prepare a roadmap, he said. The other areas of focus would be textiles, information technology (IT), engineering, healthcare and education.

CII would also take steps for facilitating the operation of international flights from Coimbatore, mainly to Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai and Sri Lanka, and crystallise the development of Coimbatore's IT infrastructure.

K Thangaraj, vice-chairman of CII, Coimbatore zone, said that membership would be extended to sectors such as infrastructure, retailing and jewellery.

Further, road shows would be conducted for industrialists in nearby places such as Salem, Namakkal, Erode, Tirupur and Pollachi to create awareness on its services, he added.