With a target to create a land bank of 45,000 acres in the next five years to establish sector-based industrial parks and clusters in Tamil Nadu, the state industries promotion corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) has expedited its process of acquiring land.
So far, the agency has identified little over 31,000 acres of land. Of this, around 6,000 acres of land have been acquired and close to 8,000 acres of land are in various stages of acquisition.
The initiative would also have a targeted approach toward industrially backward districts such as Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Virudhunagar, and Ramanathapuram. The agency has been creating infrastructures in acquired land to make readily available industrial plots to attract new investments, said a senior SIPCOT official.
“The idea is to promote industrial activities in backward districts, particularly north and western regions, to create a footprint of industrial parks across the state. It will help the agency to transform the vibrant industrial activities in areas like Hosur across Krishnagiri district. The focus would be the e-vehicle and hi-tech manufacturing sector in this region. The spill over effect will benefit Dharmapuri and it will also bridge the gap between the northern and western clusters (Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode and Salem),” said another official.
The concept of sector-based industrial parks suits the prevailing eco-system of the state and it will supplement its industrial and economic growth, the official said. The state-owned agency is working on developing textile based industrial parks in western region, food and agro-based industries in central region and marine based industrial park in Nagapattinam.
If plans work out, the state would have more than 50 industrial parks in the next 10 years. At present, there are 24 industrial parks, including six special economic zones, on a total extent of 35,034 acres spread over 15 districts in the state.