With the government targeting the southern parts of the State for industrial development, Thoothukudi on Saturday launched a two-day roadshow to woo investors in Chennai.
Talking to Express, former president of The All India Chamber of Commerce and Industries T Vel Shankar said the idea was to make Thoothkudi the investment hub.
With growth in bigger cities like Chennai and Bangalore saturating, now the focus is on Tier-II cities like Thoothkudi, which has a deep sea harbour and is a power hub of the State. “Sixty per cent of State’s power is being generated from Tuticorin,” he said.
Also, the State government is aggressively planning to implement the Madurai-Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli industrial corridor, which is expected to attract 1.90 lakh crore investment.
At a recent conclave, Finance Secretary K Shanmugham had said that the industries department was studying the detailed project report on Madurai-Tuticorin-Tirunelveli corridor submitted by the Mahindra Group.
President of All India Chamber of Commerce and Industries P S S K Raja Sankaralingam said Tuticorin had a huge potential to emerge as industrial hub. “The area has vacant lands and is more suited for industries,” he said.
Shankar said that the business chambers in Tuticorin along with the State government are planning to make Tuticorin a mini-Singapore. “The city has all available infrastructure to be developed as the investment hub of Tamil Nadu,” he said. The roadshow was inaugurated by founder CEO of Coastal Energy Private Ltd Ahmed Buhari, who is also the chairman of Tuticorin Development Board, which comprises leaders of various business chambers and traders associations.