Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday, February 25, 2024 laid the foundation stone for Vietnam-headquartered VinFast Auto Limited’s electric car manufacturing facility coming up on 408 acres in SIPCOT Industrial Complex at Sillaanaththam on the outskirts of Thoothukudi at an outlay of ₹16,000 crore.
In the first phase, the Vietnamese firm will invest ₹4,000 crore, which represents significant step towards strategic partnership between VinFast Auto and the Tamil Nadu Government aimed at advancing the development of green transportation.
Following the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between VinFast and Government of Tamil Nadu on January 6 last during the Global Investors’ Meet held in Chennai, the Chief Minister has laid the foundation stone for the manufacturing facility, which is expected to have annual production capacity up to 1.50 lakh units and create up to 3,500 new jobs in the first phase. When the entire quantum of ₹16,000 is invested, it will create direct and indirect jobs to around 10,000 persons.
With this venture, Thoothukudi has become the third auto hub of Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Hosur and Tamil Nadu is the only State in India to have three auto hubs.
Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast’s India CEO Pham Sanh Chau poses during the ground breaking ceremony of its new EV manufacturing facility in Thoothukudi on February 25, 2024 | Photo Credit: Reuters
“The VinFast Tamil Nadu project aims to develop into a first-class electric vehicle production hub in the region. This facility not only caters development objectives in the Indian market, but also serves export demands to South Asian, Middle Eastern and African countries. Additionally, the project will catalyze green transportation development which is key agenda for the Government of India and the States of curtailing carbon emissions in the transport sector, targeting 30% of newly registered private cars to be electric,” said Pham Sanh Chau, chief executive officer, VinFast India.
As Vietnam’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer with global aspirations, VinFast’s relentless dedication to innovation and research propels the company towards its goal of being a global leader in the electric vehicle industry and its commitment to a sustainable future for all, Mr. Pham noted.
The first car from the upcoming facility would be rolled-out from 15 months from the date of commencement of the civil work that started on Sunday.
Mr. Pham also unveiled VinFast’s plan to manufacture a range of cars from the Thoothukudi facility and informed that his company would explore the possibilities of exporting the e-cars which would have the range from 200 to 400 Km.
“Since Thoothukudi had been blessed with excellent connectivity with seaport and airport and skilled human resources, we decided to set-up our plant in this port town,” Mr. Pham said.
Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries T.R.B. Rajaa said Tamil Nadu, which had evolved as ‘Indian’s auto hub’ would soon become the ‘Auto hub of South Asia’ as 70% of the electric bikes and 44% of electric cars were being manufactured in Tamil Nadu.
Since the government of Tamil Nadu had attracted investments to the tune of ₹10 lakh crore in the past three years, over 3.10 million new jobs had been created in the State.
Mr. Rajaa said more industrial investments were in pipeline and the government was keen on attracting investments in aerospace, defence and life sciences sectors.
Since the Nanguneri Multiproduct Special Economic Zone is still ailing even though it was started in 2001 by late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Mr. Rajaa said the lands acquired for this project was entangled in legal issues which would be sorted out through the court soon.
“You may soon get good news about Nanguneri SEZ,” Mr. Rajaa said.
Speaker M. Appavu, Ministers, Secretary, Department of Industries V. Arun Roy, Chief Executive Officer, Guidance Tamil Nadu, V. Vishnu, Managing Director of SIPCOT, K. Senthil Raj, MP Kanimozhi, Thoothukudi District Collector G. Lakshmipathi, members of trade bodies participated.
