The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Industrial corridor may be extended

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Monday, Sep 22, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Industrial corridor may be extended

N. Anand

Three States want to tap its potential

CHENNAI: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra want the planned Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor of Excellence extended.

Tamil Nadu will establish the corridor in two phases. Though Bangalore can be connected through either Chittoor or Hosur, the State government has chosen the Sriperumbudur-Kancheepuram-Ranipet-Velore-Ambur-Krishnagiri-Hosur route, as it passes through the National Highways 4, 46 and 7, and is the most vibrant, with industries in all towns up to Hosur.

Sensing the business potential of the corridor, officials of the Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra governments have called for the corridor to run from Krishnapatnam to Mumbai, and then to New Delhi and other parts.

Balanced growth

At a recent meeting with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in New Delhi, Tamil Nadu officials were asked to present their proposal. The officials said that to satisfy the foreign investors, who were looking for land in and around Sriperumbudur and to ensure balanced growth of all regions, the State proposed the corridor.

“If the proposal comes through, it will assume a new dimension as it involves four States,” an Industry Department official told The Hindu on Friday.

The feasibility report is ready, and the project will cost Rs.1,50,000 crore. “It can’t be done by the government alone; it has to be executed through a public-private initiative. While ports and airports can be expanded with the Centre’s help to handle additional loads, roads can be developed by the National Highways Department. The private sector can help to develop real estate and infrastructure. This is the most vibrant sector, and everyone will be willing to invest in it,” the official said.

Even as the Centre was willing to know more about the corridor, Tamil Nadu officials had suggested its extension till Cuddalore. “It is high time that we had to think in advance about the extension of the corridor. We are toying with the idea of bringing in Puducherry, Marakkanam, Cheyyur and Old Madras Road so that it benefits everyone. A corridor between Madurai and Tuticorin is also on the anvil,” he said.

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