The Hindu Business Line : Madurai — a gateway to prosperity

The ‘Athens of the East’ and the ‘Madhurapuri’ of yore is moving towards the threshold of modernity. An air of development is sweeping over every sphere of activity in Madurai . It is emerging as an attractive destination for fresh investments in manufacture and service sectors. As a ‘gateway to southern economic prosperity’, its identity as a tourist destination for long, is widening to include the hidden potentials of economic significance that can drive the industrialisation and economic advancement of the region.

Infrastructure

The biggest city in south Tamil Nadu and the seat of the historical fourth Tamil Sangam with its world famous attraction, the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, has a reasonably good and modern civic infrastructure and connectivity through road, rail and air. The airport is more active these days. The port city, Tuticorin, is just about 140 km away. Its location is strategic and serves as a good base for logistics, given the rising connectivity and nearness to other districts in south Tamil Nadu.

Madurai Corporation is implementing a city development project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission for Rs 1,477 crore. According to the Mayor, Mrs G. Thenmozhi Gopinathan, two years from now, the city will be more clean and the livable environment much more improved and attractive.

Education And Research

Madurai has a literacy rate and human development index above the State average. The Madurai Kamaraj University and the Madurai Medical College are renowned institutions. There are a number of schools and colleges in arts, science, and engineering and management studies. A number of polytechnics, industrial training institutes, paramedical institutes, institutes in hotel management and catering have emerged in the last decade adding to human resource capabilities and a good source for educated and skilled manpower. Industry estimates put that about 15 to 20 per cent of manpower working in IT industries in metros are from Madurai and surrounding districts.

Thiagarajar College of Engineering and KLN College of Engineering are in the forefront in developing research facilities and have forged coordination with multinational corporations and leading industry organisations within the country. Thiagarajar School of Management has gained national attention. In recent years, the city is a witness to campus interviews by leading industry organisations and successful placement programmes organised by the University.

Healthcare

In addition to Government Rajaji Hospital, many private hospitals such as Aravind Eye Hospital, Apollo Specialty Hospital, Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre, Vadamalayan Hospital and Quality Care Hospital, make the city a destination for health care combined with heritage tourism at an affordable cost. The city is well served in terms of telecommunication network including cellular phone services, the banking sector with ATM network etc.

Housing

The emergence of apartment culture in housing in the last decade is attracting all, even from foreign countries. Upcountry property developers have set their foot in the city. ‘The facilities offered are in fact a model to emulate and comparable with any, outside’ according to city’s leading developer, Mr S. Seetharaman, Managing Director of Visvas Promoters (P) Ltd.

With the evolving growth prospects in IT and other fields, both the rentals and the land prices have spurted, yet the city remains an attraction compared to the metros in the expansion of business and industrial activities in terms of costs, efficiency, loyalty and attrition rates etc. The benefits in terms of cost alone are estimated to be around 20 per cent.

Industry Potential

On the industrial front, it houses few reputed organisations in the private sector, such as T.V. Sundaram Iyengar and Sons, Madura Coats, Fenner (I) Ltd, Hi Tech ARAI, George Oaks Ltd etc. engaged in the production of variety of goods such as tyres, industrial rubber products, machinery, textiles, conveyor belts, chemicals etc.

Presence of Honeywell, a multinational IT major is an added lustre to the city. There are industrial estates in and around Madurai, at K. Pudur, Kappalur and Uranganpatti.

Home to over 23,000 small-scale units in the district, engaged in textiles, ready made garments, bakery, floriculture, dairy and cold storage units, agro and herbal products, granite stones, blue metal jelly, chamber bricks, rubber and plastic-based industries etc. the city is often described as one that never sleeps.

A cereals, pulses and staples (CPS) milling cluster is coming up in the outskirts with modern equipments, aimed at export. The Textile Testing and Development Centre under public-private partnership in Kappalur industrial estate with CAD facility for design development is a boon to the textile industry.

The Madurai District Tiny And Small Scale Industries Association (Maditssia)’s business information centre, the Centre For Entrepreneurship Development and the Young Entrepreneurs School, sponsored by the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce And Industry function as catalysts for promotion of entrepreneurial spirit among the youth.

Step Forward

The momentum towards development and prosperity started with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)’s firm initiative to evolve a roadmap through, by now well-known report, ‘Southern Prosperity Through Enhanced Economic Development (SPEED)’ in 2006. Of late, with the attention of the State Government turning to Tier II cities for promotion of IT and IT enabled services, Madurai has come into focus as the most desirable destination for investment and expansion of industrial activities.

Already, Software Technology Parks of India has established a sub-centre providing medium-sized KU-band gateways. Also available is a high-speed data-communication service to software exporters under the cap of SOFTnet. Under the initiative of Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu, the IT sector has gained further thrust. The Madurai District Administration has identified two sites, 280 acres in the Madurai Kamaraj University campus for IT Park and another 55 acres near Mattuthavani Integrated Bus Stand, for TIDEL Park.

Encouraging breeze

Mr Krishna Mikkilineni, Vice-President and Managing Director, Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab Pvt Ltd, has announced during his recent visit to the city, the intent to expand the operations further in Madurai. Satyam Computers, yet another IT major, has very recently announced the acquisition of 50 acres of land to establish its development centre in the University campus.

In the HR arena, the internationally renowned Ma Foi has recently opened a development centre. For improving English language communication skills, VETA, a leader in the business, has come up with its presence. In the last one decade, the local initiative in IT and related activities has gathered strength with Madurai as head-quarters in areas such as Internet and communication technology services, enterprise software products and solutions, human relations and business process outsourcing services, consultation and services through Web sites for VAT etc. In fact, according to Mr R. Sivarajha, Chairman, IT Panel, CII, Madurai Zone, more than 45 solution providers function at various levels in the city.

Things are happening not only in the IT field but in other fields as well such as infrastructure. A CII estimate has put, investment in infrastructure development in the region around Rs 33, 000 crore . The service through Madurai airport is on the rise with about eight flights a day to Chennai alone. It is expanding to other cities as well such as Bangalore, Mumbai and of late, to Coimbatore. Down south, Tuticorin is connected.

The airport is getting renovated and modernised with modern facilities.

The runway is increased from 6,000 ft to 7,500 ft. Efforts are on to make it an international airport.

To facilitate big airbodies to land conveniently, further acquisition of land with the intent to increase the runway to 10,000 ft is under process.

According to Mr Rethinavelu, President of Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce And Industry, here, Malaysian authorities have promised to move with the Indian Government for operation of flight services to the city.

Further, an integrated cargo complex project is under implementation at a cost of Rs 45 crore.

In Paramount Airways, Madurai can boast of a native airliner.

Road connectivity

Four-laning of road connectivity, especially from Tuticorin, the port city to Madurai and further beyond to Tiruchi and Chennai is fast progressing. With the completion of the much awaited doubling of broad gauge lines between Madurai and Dindigul, the increase in the flow of traffic and gain in terms of time are bound to give further fillip to the growth process in the region. Over 35 express trains and other trains, from different destinations across the country serve Maduari.

Tourism

Not lagging behind is the traditional tourism sector. It is sprucing itself to attract more foreign tourists. Tirumalai Naicker Mahal is renovated. Local arts and folklore are showcased consistently in recent years.

Hotels with modern facilities to accommodate foreign tourists is on the rise with the increase in three-star hotels category in the city.