CHENNAI: Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said Tamil Nadu would weather the slowdown in the automobile sector as the state’s economy was diversified and not dependent solely on a single sector.
Speaking at the first edition of Real Estate Summit and Awards (RESA), organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and The New Indian Express here on Thursday night, the minister said the Tamil Nadu, the second-largest state economy, attracted foreign direct investments worth $2.61 billion in 2018-19, which is 5.9 per cent of the total FDI investments in the country. He observed that the state’s economy was bigger than that of Vietnam, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and New Zealand. Stating that construction, housing and real estate constituted nearly 30 per cent of the TN economy, the minister said Vision Tamil Nadu-2023 envisaged slum-free cities before 2023 and the state identified 13.91 lakh families that would require tenements to achieve the goal.
Housing Secretary Rajesh Lakhoni said that projects above 25,000 square feet could be uploaded online directly for approval and Tamil Nadu was the first state to launch this scheme.
Earlier, Urban Tree was adjudged the Developer of the Year in Chennai while Srivari Property Developers was declared the Developer of the Year in rest of Tamil Nadu. Newry was awarded the Affordable Housing Project of the Year while Casa Grande won the honour of the Affordable Housing Project in rest of Tamil Nadu.
The other awardees include Vijay Raja Homes for Innovative Real Estate Marketing Campaign of the year, Shoba Developers for Best Quality Construction of year (Chennai), Srivari Infrastructure for Best (Rest of Tamil Nadu), Shriram for Best Gated Community, Shoba for Best Architecture Plan of the year.