The 100-acre Free Trade and Warehousing Zone (FTWZ), located within the 2,500 acres AMRL Special Economic Zone in Nanguneri, has taken off, with Dubai-based businesses taking space and beginning operations from the premises
The AMRL FTWZ, the first such zone notified in southern Tamil Nadu, is projected to generate a turnover of ₹3,000 crore and employment to around 2,000 people in the next five years.
Co-developer, AMRL FTWZ, Parashar Lohia told The Hindu that the 100-acre facility, now with one lakh sqft warehouse, provides state-of-the-art facilities including on-site customs clearance and value-added logistics support to clients for global operations.
Facilities
The plug-n-play facilities were complete with administrative block, drivers’ rest area and truck bay that reduce the initial capital costs and enable clients to choose a suitable place at minimum cost and risk.
“Our proximity to Thoothukudi harbour is our main advantage as the port gives easy access to the east and west sea-lanes via Colombo with only 12 hours sailing time. With all elements of warehousing and trade falling in place at AMRL FTWZ, we are confident that the FTWZ will thrive and become a hub for international trade in the next few years,” Mr. Lohia, who is also director of Ashray Logistics, said.
Commenting on their operations at AMRL FTWZ, Inderjit Dhariwal, Director, ANS International, currently based out of Jabel Ali Free Zone in Dubai, said he chose AMRL FTWZ for the operations after conducting study of over 10 sites across the country and even in Thailand and Vietnam.
“The business model of AMRL FTWZ is suitable for micro, small and medium companies, as the model offers flexibility in space allocation at reasonable costs. Our plan is to eventually shift all our operations from Dubai to India as AMRL FTWZ offers the right blend of strategic location, essential facilities and services that match our business needs and is cost-effective vis-à-vis our Dubai operations. Having an on-site Customs Officer is like icing on the cake as even Jabel Ali does not offer that convenience”, he added.
ANS International deals with imports of farm equipment and auto-components (primarily tractors) from China and export of whole component kits to the USA. The annual turnover in the new facility will be about ₹1 crore initially and rise to over ₹10 crore in the next 2-3 years.
Colorsports, another company from the Middle East that has taken space at AMRL FTWZ to export sports goods, echoed similar opinion. Currently, their brands include Prince (tennis racquets and balls), Roller Blade, a leading brand in inland roller skates, and MacDavid, a premier brand in auto-fit equipment.
“We have chosen this location because it is ideal for our business of importing and supplying to the overseas and domestic market. These are high-value goods. We import from Vietnam, Burma and China and supply to the middle-east and the Indian market,” said Farhan, Director, Colorsports.
“AMRL FTWZ is going to be the trendsetter in this region. The concept of FTWZ is just taking off in India, and we are among the few who have recognized the potential of this sector in the country and pioneered this development in south Tamil Nadu. The larger SEZ development will drive the warehousing growth of the FTWZ apart from pure trading operations by traders. AMRL SEZ has the capacity to house a diverse set of industries including textiles, electronics, general engineering, aerospace and auto components. It offers a plethora of choices for businesses from land lease to ready-to-move in factories and the warehousing facilities in the FTWZ will offer holistic solutions to industry,” said Raghini Peter, President-Business Development, AMRL SEZ.
Revenue, job generation
The estimated total turnover of AMRL SEZ is about ₹10,000 crores, with direct employment opportunities for over 30,000 people in the next five years.
In the long-term, it has the potential to generate direct employment for over 1 lakh persons, making it one of India’s largest multi-product SEZs in operation.
