Cutting travel time seen as key to growth of industrial hubs

Tamil Nadu is examining possibilities of developing greenfield road and rail corridors to broad base areas of industrial growth, said the Industries Secretary, Mr N. Sundaradevan.

Addressing a seminar on ‘Regional Economic Integration and Role of Economic Corridors of Investment', he said, the State is pursuing its own Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridor across the traditional industrial hubs of Ranipet, Krishnagiri and Hosur, close to Bangalore.

The key to industrial growth is reducing travel time to the proposed industrial hubs. Investors judge distances by time rather than kilometres. “An hour's drive from an international airport” is often the answer to what investors consider an ideal location for investment, he said.

This is what the State Government will strive to do with Japanese investors suggesting the establishment of a bullet-train link between Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Kochi. Another prerequisite for the creating an investment zone is the presence of adequate social infrastructure.

Mr Sundaradevan also explained that the Chennai-Bangalore industrial investment corridor envisaged by the State Government is different from that proposed by the Centre, which is looking at a link that includes corridors along the NH-4, NH-5, NH-7 and NH-46, which will include districts in Andhra Pradesh also.

Mr C. Jayaram, Director-Projects, Bangalore Airport Rail Link Ltd, said the Chennai-Bangalore corridor as envisaged by the Centre will be extended up to Mumbai and will benefit Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The four States need to work together to emulate the success of the first such concept, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

Karnataka has one of the lowest rail densities and was among the first to address this issue by partnering with the Indian Railways in sharing the capital expenditure and contributing land.

At the event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Mr S. Chandrasekar, Chairman, CII-Karnataka, said addressing energy constraints will be the key to the success of industrial corridors of investment. In some areas, water could be in short supply.

The Bangalore portion of the industrial corridor should include Hubli and Belgaum, as the proposed gas pipeline between Dabhol and Bangalore passes through these districts.