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Power plant linked to desalination project; IT park planned

PROPOSALS COME CALLING: Mr Anil Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Mr Anil Ambani, calling on the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, at the State Secretariat in Chennai on Saturday. On right is the Union Minister for Communications, Mr Dayanidhi Maran. — S.R. Raghunathan

Chennai , Sept. 9

The Anil Dhirubai Ambani Group plans to invest over Rs 12,000 crore through two projects in Tamil Nadu - a Rs 10,000-crore multi-product Special Economic Zone and a Rs 2,000-crore information technology park and convention centre.

Following a meeting with the Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, the Chairman of the Reliance-Anil Dhirubai Ambani Group, Mr Anil Ambani, told presspersons here on Saturday that he had outlined two specific investment proposals for the consideration of the State Government.

"We are encouraged by the buoyancy of investment climate in the State and we have made two specific proposals for consideration of the Government," he said.

One is for a multi-product SEZ with the core of a 1,000-MW power project linked to a desalination plant. The amount of water produced from the plant would be close to a third of the current water shortage in Chennai.

"We believe that this proposal is an attractive proposal and look forward to working with the State Government to progress our thoughts further," Mr Ambani said. The second proposal is for an information technology park and world class convention centre "considering that pretty much on a global basis people now look at Tamil Nadu and Chennai as the IT destination of India," he said.

The Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, who was present on the occasion, said Mr Ambani was coming to Chennai after over a decade. He had wanted to meet the Chief Minister to outline the investment plans. "They had a good meeting," he said.

According to officials, the Reliance group has submitted detailed proposals for the projects. The proposals are quite attractive, they said.

Desalination plant

The power plant linked to a desalination project is an integrated facility currently in vogue in projects of this type in West Asia. The Reliance group has implemented it for its refinery in Gujarat, according to the officials. The cooling water from the power plant is then used in the desalination plant. Both the power and the water could be sold either to the cluster of industries in the SEZ or to a third party - a power trader in case of electricity or the State's water utility in case of the desalinated water.

Land to be identified

According to reliable sources, the Government will have to identify land for the SEZ, as it would require a minimum of 2,500 acres. Ennore, to the north of Chennai, could be one location as it is along the coast. Besides, the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, a State Government agency, has over 3,000 acres of land in its possession for an SEZ.

They said that Tamil Nadu has forwarded over 15 proposals for SEZs to the Centre for approval with most of them involving private sector participation. One or two were to be promoted in the public sector, including the SEZ at Perambalur that was announced in the budget session.

More Stories on : Infrastructure | Power | Infrastructure | Tamil Nadu

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