CHENNAI: Industries Minister TRB Rajaa on Thursday said Tamil Nadu has reported that 77% of the MoUs the state signed for investments since 2021 have translated into projects on the ground. The state has signed MoUs worth Rs 10.82 lakh crore in the last four years. “We crossed the 75% mark that the chief minister wanted us to achieve. We have now reached 77%,” Rajaa told reporters.
According to him, around 80% of the 631 agreements signed at the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024 are under implementation.
“We are not slowing down; in fact, we are shifting gears to move faster,” he said. Following the recent Thoothukudi investors’ conclave, the government has scheduled two more zonal meets — in Hosur on September 11 and in Coimbatore, for which date is to be finalised.
“In Thoothukudi alone, we signed 41 MoUs worth `32,554 crore, which could generate 49,825 jobs,” Rajaa said, adding that the conclave also helped shed the “bad aura” surrounding the district after the Sterlite firing incident.
CM MK Stalin will lead a delegation to Germany and the UK from August 30 to September 8, aimed at bolstering Tamil Nadu’s profile among global investors. “We want to be the first to tap the Free Trade Agreement (with the UK). We are looking at investments in shipping, railways, and other sectors,” Rajaa said. On why the government has not released a white paper on investments, Rajaa said details were deliberately kept under wraps.
“As you all know what the union government is doing, we didn’t want our investments to be diverted to another state,” he said.
On Parandur airport project, Rajaa said the facility is crucial for the state’s growth and urged political parties not to turn it into a controversy. “The government will do whatever is required for the welfare of the people,” he said.