The ultimate goal of the Tamil Nadu government is to ensure growth in all the districts, said Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in Thoothukudi on Monday.
Laying the foundation stone for establishing a world-class furniture park on a sprawling 1,156 acres of land at an estimated cost of about ₹1,000 crore, situated close to the V.O. Chidambaranar Port, Mr. Stalin said he was confident that not only Thoothukudi, but every district in Tamil Nadu would witness industrial growth. “This is just the beginning,” he said.
The furniture park, a first of its kind in the country, was the need of the hour for Tamil Nadu. Experts in the sector have predicted a huge scope for such products in international markets in the next five years as countries like Vietnam and China were in the forefront in leather goods and wooden furniture. Already, major glassmakers from Belgium have shown interest to set up shop at the proposed furniture park and an MoU had been entered with the government, Mr. Stalin said.
The government, which took over about nine months ago, had already hosted three investor conferences–two in Chennai and one in Coimbatore. This, he said, had attracted a whopping investment commitment of ₹56,229 crore and proposed job opportunities for 1,74,999 persons. As many as 109 MoUs had been signed with companies so far.
Recalling his promise, to “retrieve Tamil Nadu”, made during the 2021 Assembly polls, the Chief Minister said, “Almost, everyday, I am interacting with the government officials, ministers and captains of the industry on the need for opening up large scale manufacturing facilities and industrial parks, which has crystallised into such events.” He would tour every city and district regularly. The officials have identified or proposed setting up industries after holding a series of discussions. In fact, the trade and industrial associations in the State were also vibrant.
‘Dravidian model’
Mr. Stalin said many southern districts, including Tirunelveli, Theni, Dindigul and Virudhunagar, would shortly get a food park, a textile park and facilities for manufacturing fertilizers, food processing and garment manufacturing units. Attributing the overall growth across the State to the “Dravidian model”, he hoped more job opportunities would prevent migration of youth to other States.
Apart from major industrial houses, small and medium enterprises too had come up with proposals to set up their units in Tamil Nadu. A total of ₹267 crore would be infused and 2,373 new jobs would be given by them for which 19 MoUs had been signed by the companies and the officials from the government, he informed on the occasion.
For the benefit of the investors and other stakeholders, the Guidance Tamil Nadu had launched exclusive websites - www.investintamilnadu.com and www.tnlip.com. The platform would facilitate the interested companies to look for comprehensive information. For instance, buyers may look for land parcels available and sellers could upload details about the land extent and price among other details.
Mr. Stalin said the State government would be friendly to the investors and ensure mandatory procedures such as issuance of licences at the fastest pace. Very soon, he wished, Tamil Nadu would again be the the most preferred State in the country for investments and become the ultimate choice for the investors.
Ministers K.K.S.S.R Ramachandran, Thangam Thennarasu, T.M. Anbarasu, Mano Thangaraj, Anitha Radhakrishnan, Raja Kannappan and Geetha Jeevan, Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi, IAS officers S Krishnan, Siji Thomas Vaidyan, Pooja Kulkarni, Thoothukudi Collector K. Senthil Raj and others participated.
Representatives from top companies, including Ramco Cements chairman P.R. Venketrama Raja, office-bearers from various industrial and trade associations, bankers and others were present.
Solar power plant at SPIC
The Chief Minister also inaugurated a unique model of solar power plant at the SPIC complex in Thoothukudi. According to the officials, the 22 MW facility would produce 42 million units every year. The solar plant had come up on an investment of ₹150.40 crore. Mr. Stalin praised the executives for their initiative in power generation and hoped that many other institutions follow the model.
The government would assist in providing support in all aspects for such novel initiatives as power generation was vital for all types of industries. The SPIC had set a trend of self-sufficiency as it would consume the power generated from the solar plant, he added.
