Construction of the Tiruchi Trade Centre at Panjapur on the outskirts of the city hangs in balance due to a delay in forming an approach road.
The State government allotted 9.42 acres of land for constructing the Tiruchi Trade Centre about three and half years ago. The TTC should have been completed by this time. But the construction has not started yet due to lack of access road to the site.
According to sources, a consortium, which was formed by integrating a group of Tiruchi-based Micro Small and Medium Entrepreneurs, had sought a site from the Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO) for constructing TTC. Considering the merit of the demand, SIDCO allotted the needed land at Panjapur three years ago. A company, christened Tiruchi Trade Centre Private Limited was also formed on February 21, 2020, with a contribution of ₹3 lakh each from 200 members. A sum of ₹11 crore was allotted, with a contribution of ₹5 crore as a grant by SIDCO. A convention centre with a seating capacity to accommodate 4,000 persons was among the important components of the trade centre.
Though Chief Minister M.K. Stalin subsequently laid the foundation stone for the project in December 2021, construction has not been started yet. It is said that the construction has been put on hold due to a lack of access to the site. Though the district administration promised to provide an approach road to the site from the proposed Tiruchi-Karur highway from Panjapur, there has been no progress on it. It has made theiTrade Centre Private Limited to put on hold the construction of the trade centre.
When contacted N. Kanagasabapathy, Chairman of the company told The Hindu that the issue had been taken to the notice of Minister for Municipal Administration K.N. Nehru and Collector M. Pradeep Kumar. They had promised that the land for the approach road would be provided shortly.
There had been some progress on the allotment of land to form an approach road. Construction of the trade centre would start immediately after the decks cleared for the approach road to the site. It could be completed within an year from the commencement of construction work.
