CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu is preparing to roll out a dedicated shipbuilding policy and anchor a Rs 5,200-crore shipbuilding cluster in Thoothukudi, signalling a sharper industrial push backed by Rs 4,282 crore earmarked for the industries and investment promotion department in the interim budget.
Finance minister Thangam Thenarasu said manufacturing, technology and large infrastructure projects would underpin the state’s ambition of becoming a $1-trillion economy by 2030.
The proposed shipbuilding cluster, to be developed in association with the VO Chidambaranar Port Authority, is supported by memoranda of understanding worth about Rs 30,000 crore.
A senior industries department official said that the state has sent the `5,200 crore proposal to the centre, adding that the shipping policy will be in circulation in the next two weeks.
The Tamil Nadu government, in coordination with the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), is working on a roadmap for a proposed Greenfield shipbuilding cluster at Thoothukudi. The cluster will be developed through a special purpose vehicle - National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park - Tamil Nadu (NSHIP-TN) - set up as a 50:50 joint venture between the V O Chidambaranar Port Authority and SIPCOT, Tamil Nadu.
Since the current government assumed office, Tamil Nadu has signed 1,179 MoUs, committing investments of Rs 12.37 trillion with a potential employment for 3.6 million people, driven through platforms such as the Global Investors Meet and TN-Rising.
Industrial infrastructure is being expanded beyond established hubs as the number of SIPCOT industrial parks has risen to 54, covering 49,468 acres, from 24 parks in 15 districts before 2021. Land acquisition is under way for another 28,392 acres, in line with the state’s plan to establish industrial parks in every district.
Around Chennai, the government is developing a 2,000-acre Tamil Nadu Knowledge City and Global City, while a workers’ hostel with 18,720 beds has been built at Sriperumbudur at a cost of Rs 706 crore.
To be developed with VOC port
The proposed shipbuilding cluster, to be developed in association with the VOC Port Authority, is supported by memoranda of understanding worth about Rs 30,000 crore. A senior industries department official said that the state has sent the Rs 5,200 crore proposal to the centre, adding that the shipping policy will be in circulation in the next two weeks.