For the first time, the State government officials on Friday held a discussion with industry captains and tech experts to chalk out strategies to boost exports and clear the bottlenecks along the way.
M Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman, FICCI (Tamil Nadu Council) and president Federation of Indian Export Organisations, said, “We have requested the government to complete the Chennai Port-Maduravoyal elevated corridor soon so that exporters can have faster access to the port. We also asked the officials to expedite the Madurai-Tuticorin industrial corridor.”
Exporters also asked for flights to South East Asian countries from Madurai airport.
Major issueOn behalf of all the IT companies, NASSCOM expressed concern that infrastructure and security was still a major issue.
“The government was asked to beef up security around Mahindra World City and Old Mahabalipuram Road – the two major IT hubs - during night time. They have also requested for a bus bay to park IT company buses at Siruseri,” said a source, who was at the meeting.
In the meeting chaired by the Industries Secretary, officials of ELCOT, SIPCOT, TIDCO, Port Trust and Fisheries were also present.
A government official said the meeting was called at the instance of the Central government to chalk out strategies for boosting exports. Referring to the Assistance to States for Infrastructure Development and Exports Scheme (ASIDE), the official said the State had secured Rs. 560 crore under the scheme over the years.