The Hindu Business Line : TIDCO signs pact with AMRL for Nanguneri SEZ

Chennai, April 10 The Nanguneri multi-product Special Economic Zone is set for launch, with the State Government entering into a joint venture agreement with the private promoter, AMRL Constructions.

According to an official press release, the joint venture agreement was signed between the State-run Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and the private promoter in the presence of the Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi. A special purpose vehicle, AMRL International Tech City Ltd, has been floated to implement the project. AMRL Constructions has over 70 per cent stake in the joint venture, with TIDCO holding a 1 per cent stake.

Notification soon

The SEZ near Tirunelveli, a southern district of Tamil Nadu, is expected to attract investments of over Rs 15,000 crore and generate 70,000 jobs. The Union Government has given formal approval for the SEZ and the notification is expected in the first week of May. The SEZ would provide for a manufacturing area of over 1,500 acres and 1,000 acres for support facilities for a range of industries.

The Nanguneri SEZ has been in the making for over a decade. The project, envisaged as a driver of economic growth for the southern districts, was first conceived as a high tech industrial park in 1999 before the concept of SEZs was introduced.

The foundation stone for the project was laid in 2001 by Mr Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister, who led the then DMK Government.

At that time, the private promoter was identified as the US-based Infac group which promoted a special purpose vehicle ATMAC Ltd jointly with Tidco.

However, there was a delay in the project, which was revived in 2006, when the DMK Government again took over. The Hyderabad-based AMR group was inducted into the project and it acquired a 68 per cent stake in the company.

Last year, after problems in acquiring land for the project, the Government considered splitting up the multi-product SEZ into seven single-product SEZs for auto components, pharmaceutical, electronic hardware, logistics, biotechnology and information technology.

However, the land issues were subsequently sorted out and the company has acquired a little over 2,500 acres to push through the multi-product SEZ.

Work on the project is expected to start in less than a week.

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