The Hindu Business Line : Guindy industrial estate to get facelift soon

Today it looks its age. A non-profit company - designed as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) - will be floated to create basic infrastructure for the industrial estate, according to the president of the Industrial Estate Manufacturers' Association, Mr K. Gopalakrishnan.

The association, Small Industries Development Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIDCO), Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC) and a few leading industrialists will float the SPV, he said.

The Tamil Nadu Road Development Corporation has put together a Rs 10.5-crore project to upgrade infrastructure such as roads, sewage system, storm water drain and rain water harvesting system, waste treatment plant and street lighting, he said.

They hope to raise funds with the assistance of the Central and State governments, which are to provide Rs 2 crore each. The industrialists within the estate will contribute Rs 3 crore. An additional Rs 2 crore will be raised as loan from the Small Industries Development Bank of India or other institutions. The Chennai Corporation is expected to contribute Rs 1 crore but it has not committed itself, he said.

The SPV, which will be able to generate income once the Industrial Township Act proposed by the State Government is notified, will handle the repayment. The Chennai Corporation collects Rs 2 crore as property tax from the industrial estate, but once the Act is in place the SPV will be able to retain about 60 per cent of the revenue for the upkeep of the industrial estate, he said.

The 400-acre industrial estate, established in 1957, has about 700 units involved in engineering, leather, garments, electronics and plastics. There has not been much effort to maintain infrastructure and roads have broken down as also the water supply and drainage system, he said.

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