Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday said that Tamil Nadu has been the first choice for investors owing to the prevailing favourable situation and ease of doing business in the State.
Tamil Nadu would achieve its goal of turning into USD One trillion economy before 2030 given the current pace ofdevelopment in the State, Mr. Stalin said after inaugurating through video-conference from Chennai, the JR One Kothari Factory (Phase-I), set up within the Phoenix Kothari Footwear Park inside the SIPCOT Industrial Park at Eraiyur, in the industrially-backward Perambalur district.
The government was taking all efforts to attract investments to the backward districts of the State which was evident from the inauguration of the factory in Perambalur. The government was keen on creating more job opportunities and promoting inclusive growth.
Set up with an investment of ₹400 crore, the JR One Kothari Factory, dedicated to producing Crocs footwear, would eventually provide employment to 4,000 persons, especially women of Perambalur district and its surrounding areas.
Mr. Stalin said the footwear and leather sector had witnessed a drastic change since the Tamil Nadu Footwear and Leather Products policy was unveiled by him in 2022. The State government had been taking various measures to attract multinational companies, especially those in the sector, he said pointing out that plans were afoot to establish a footwear manufacturing park on 250 acres of land at Panapakkam in Ranipet district at a cost of ₹400 crore. This is expected to provide employment to 20,000 persons.
The government had also planned to create new non-leather footwear clusters in the form of footwear parks on 30-50 acres through SIPCOT / SIDCO and public-private partnerships. Mr. Stalin said the measures taken by the government had created confidence among investors.
S.S. Sivasankar, Transport Minister, T.R.B.Rajaa, Minister for Industries, A. Raja, MP, Ron Chang, President, Shoetown Group, Chris, Director, JR One Kothari Footwear Private Limited, Jinnah Rafiq Ahmed, Chairman, Phoenix Kothari Footwear Limited, Arun Roy, Industries Secretary, K. Senthil Raj, Managing Director, SIPCOT, K.Karpagam, Perambalur Collector, and others participated.
The JR One Kothari Factory aims at producing 10 million pairs of Crocs footwear annually in its first phase. Plans were afoot to expand the factory to produce 20 million pairs annually.
Discussions were under way with global giants, such as Nike, Adidas and other significant players, to establish three additional factories under the umbrella of Phoenix Kothari Footwear Limited, a press note from the company said.
