Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene immediately and hand over the Integrated Vaccine Complex at Chengalpattu near Chennai owned by HLL Bio-Tech Ltd to the State government for vaccine production with the help of a private partner.
The facility is lying unutilised. The Centre has already invested around ₹700 crore in the facility, which is almost completed but has been lying unutilised for want of additional funds. The recent attempt to find a private partner to run the facility has also not borne fruit, as there were no bidders for it.
“I am very keen that this modern facility must be made functional immediately, in the interest of our State as well as our nation. This would substantially enhance the nation’s vaccine production capacity and cater to the vaccine requirements of the country as a whole and Tamil Nadu in particular,” Stalin said.
“I wish to propose that the assets of IVC may be handed over to the State government on lease, without any past liabilities and with full operational freedom,” the letter said
The State government will identify a suitable private partner immediately and will make all efforts to commence vaccine production at the earliest. A suitable financial arrangement for the Central government to recover a part of its investment can be subsequently worked out, after the commencement of operations,” the letter said.
Mass vaccination is the most potent weapon available in this fight against Covid-19. “It is absolutely necessary that we must ramp up the domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity, in accordance with the Prime Minister’s vision of Self-Sufficient India,” he said.