Chennai to get Rs 25,000-cr IT hub

9 Sep 2008, 0510 hrs IST, Jayaraj Sivan,TNN

CHENNAI: With a proposed investment of Rs 25,000 crore on infrastructure, the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation is laying a road map for an IT investment region (ITIR) covering 1,400 sq km area (3.5 lakh acres) south-west of Chennai and lying between the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) and the Bangalore Highway. 

"It is an ambitious project aimed at dispersing the infrastructure evenly by creating plug and play facilities for investors across the ITIR over the next five years. Though the investment on infrastructure will be under a public-private partnership, the lion's share will be contributed by the government. Going by past experience, the actual investment on infrastructure could be much more than the initial projection. We expect corporates to move in with an investment of Rs 4 lakh crore into the ITIR, which would generate roughly 4 lakh additional jobs," said a TIDCO official. 

The proposed region is bounded on the east by the OMR — from Chennai up to Mahabalipuram — and on the north by NH4 — from Chennai up to Kanchipuram. The NH 45, up to Chengelpet, will cut across the proposed ITIR. 

The region will have four new rail networks — Taramani-Mahabalipuram (along the Buckingham Canal), Chennai-Kancheepuram (along NH 4), Chengelpet-Sriperumbudur and Kancheepuram-OMR. Oragadam will be the meeting point for the last two sections. 

The project aims at expanding several existing roads and creating new ones that will function as grids for development. While all arterial roads will be six-lane, the width of smaller roads would be minimum four-lane, said the official. 

TIDCO is in the final stages of preparing the preliminary report. "The initial proposal is being prepared in-house. Once the union IT ministry approves the proposal, a detailed report will be prepared with the help of professional agencies," said another official. 

"Apart from what is needed for the infrastructure, no land will be acquired by the government and no existing development like industries, residential layouts and dwelling units will be disturbed. Under this model, industries will have to acquire wasteland on their own. Even if 20 percent of the total land in the region is available for development, business houses can look forward to acquiring around 70,000 acres," he noted. 

Though the primary objective would be to promote IT and ITES units, there would be no restriction on other industries setting up shop in the ITIR. Further, there will be no fiscal benefits specific to the ITIR. 
"Investors will have to make the best use of existing schemes," said the official. 

jayaraj.sivan@timesgroup.com