TN has enough land for investors, but Coimbatore region proves tricky
Land is available even close to state capital Chennai, but in Coimbatore and nearby districts, it's a crunch situation; the available land there is costly, says a senior state government official
Tamil Nadu is wooing more and more industries to the state. But the question is, does it have enough land, water, and power sources?
So far, more than 192 MoUs have been signed since the DMK government took charge and, out of this, more than 80 companies have started work on their projects. Another 29 have chosen land and, in the coming months, work will start, an additional chief secretary who did not wish to be named told The Federal.
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“Tamil Nadu has enough land, water and power. It is also connected through air, land and sea. Therefore, it is easy for any investor to invest in the state,” said the official.
Land is not a problem except in the western districts, he observed. “As of now we have no less than 10,000 acres of land in the land bank. Apart from that we are looking at 45,000 acres of government land across the state to use for industries,” said the official.
Most of the investors are looking at land in and around Chennai and Coimbatore.
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“Even near Chennai we have land for setting up industries but in Coimbatore and nearby districts, we are finding it difficult to find land. And land in those areas is very costly,” said the official.
Apart from Chennai, Hosur in Krishnagiri district has become a very big manufacturing hub. “Many electric vehicle manufacturing companies have set up industries in Hosur and nearby areas. Already, there are watch manufacturing companies, heavy vehicle manufacturers etc and now more companies want to invest in the Hosur area,” said the official.
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Most of the MoUs are in the IT and IT-enabled services (ITES), textiles, footwear and electric vehicles sectors.
“The investors know very well what sort of companies can be set up in Tamil Nadu. So only those companies which know about the state are coming in with projects. Once they show interest to start the project, through a single window, we provide all permission from various departments for the company to start their project,” said the official.
He said, of late, even investments in backward districts like Ariyalur and Perambalur have been received. “Investors have shown interest to invest in Ramanthapuram (solar power), Virudhunagar (textiles), Sivaganga, Pudukottai, Trichy and Theni districts,” said the official.
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With regard to Ford, which wants to close its manufacturing unit near Chennai, the official said the government is taking all steps to help the workers.
“We are helping the workers to get better compensation from the company so that they or their families don’t suffer. Since these workers have experience, they will also be observed in other auto companies in and around Chennai,” he said.
