CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government is seeking consultants to prepare a master plan for developing two industrial nodes on a priority basis along the Chennai-Kanniyakumari Industrial Corridor which is part of East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC), the first coastal corridor to be implemented in India.
The nodes under Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor, which comes under the second phase of ECEC, include Madurai-Virudhunagar-Dindigul-Theni node and Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli node.
The first phase of ECEC consists of Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor and the third phase runs through Odisha and West Bengal.
Asian Development Bank will be providing USD 1.6 million for preparing the master plan for the two nodes, which were assessed and prioritised for development based on the three key criteria which include rail road, port and air connectivity, urban-industrial eco-system and skilled work force supply.
The Madurai-Virudhunagar-Dindigul-Theni (MDVT) node will spread over 8,232 acres. This includes existing 25 acres of SIPCOT land in Nilakottai. Official sources indicated that 8,207 acres need to be acquired for the node in Thirumangalam in Madurai district, Vedasandur in Dindigul district, Virudhunagar and Sattur in Virudhunagar district and Bodinayakanur in Theni district.
Similarly, the Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli node will come up on 11,248 acres. This includes 2,730 acres in existing parks which include Thoothukudi Sipcot, Gangaikondan Sipcot, Gangaikondan Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Nanguneri SEZ.
It is learnt that another 8,518 acres is required to be acquired for the project at Sillanathan and Kulathur in Thoothukudi district and Gangakondan New Park in Tirunelveli district.
The master plan will assess the comprehensive market potential of the nodes, including economic profile, industry scenario and potential growth. It will also include plans for development of climate-resilient external and internal infrastructure for the nodes in terms of transport and logistics and infrastructure to streamline transport connections at ports, feeder connections and maritime gateways.
The integral part of master plan process will be demand side intervention with a focus on assessing the needs of investor. Anchor investors for the nodes will be identified early on and continuous consultations will be pursued to identify their concerns and expectations, their land, infrastructure, skill and utility pricing requirements will assessed and given due consideration in the plan.
It is learnt that that the master plan will delineate zones or areas where the development will be focused along with associated permissible land uses in respective regions to optimally utilise any existing infrastructure or unutilised industrial lands.
Factfile
The master plan will provide a comprehensive market potential of the two industrial nodes
It will assess the population to be catered to by the proposed industrial nodes for next
30 years
It will conduct gap assessment of social infrastructure, including health, education, housing and recreational facilities with respect to projected requirements
Develop a land use plan to strengthen urban development dimension and provide for ring fencing land around the nodes for development of urban agglomerations.
Propose strategies that would stimulate and strengthen domestic and international trade links for the nodes
East Coast Economic Corridor
ECEC is implemented in three phases
Phase-1 includes Vizag-Chennai Industrial corridor, which covers Andhra; Phase II covers Chennai-Kanniyakumari Industrial Corridor and Phase III covers Odisha and
West Bengal.
Chennai-Kanniyakumari Industrial Corridor will have two industrial nodes.
The industrial nodes include Madurai-Dindigul-Virudhunagar-Theni (8,232 acres) and Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli Corridor (11,248 acres).
The master plan for the two industrial nodes will be funded by Asian Development Bank ($1.6m).