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MUMBAI, Sept. 19

MAHINDRA Industrial Park Ltd's integrated township, set up in Chennai, is expected to bring in an investment of $1.5 billion in the first five years.

Mahindra City, the integrated township with business parks, IT city, housing, retail and leisure elements located on the outskirts of Chennai city, is set to be launched later this week.

MIPL is scheduled to commence roadshows in the South-East Asian countries and North America in November.

MIPL, a three-way joint venture between the Mahindra Group, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), has made an investment of Rs 300 crore so far in this project.

``The company should expect to recover its investment in five years,'' Mr Arun Nanda, President - Infrastructure Development Sector, Mahindra Group, said. Of the Rs 300 crore, debt accounts for Rs 60 crore, the rest being equity.

The Mahindra Group holds 50 per cent stake in Mahindra Industrial, IL&FS holds 39 per cent and TIDCO the remaining 11 per cent.

So far, the project has attracted the information technology industry, both software and hardware. The apparel industry and the electrical manufacturers have also evinced interest in the project.

The project was conceived about five years ago, Mr Nanda said. The original plan was to set up an auto ancillary park, but it was changed for the concept of an integrated business city.

The Singapore-based JTC International laid down the master plan of the project and the landscaping design was done by the Singapore-based Belt Collins.

MIPL acquired 1,450 acres of land outside Chennai city through negotiations with farmers. However, the project did not involve any replacement of villages. ``We have left a cluster of villages in this acreage untouched,'' Mr Nanda said adding that the reserve forest area is also untouched.

Explaining the concept of the township, Mr P.G. Ganapathy, General Manager, Infrastructure Development Sector, said the project would involve shared infrastructure. It will also include a six-lane dual carriageway, telecom infrastructure, optical fibre connectivity, water supply distribution network and sewerage network.

There are plans to set up a multimodal logistics terminal taking advantage of the fact that the township has access of all four modes of transport — air, road, rail and sea.

In the first phase, the project would rely on power supply from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. ``There are plans to put up a captive power plant, may be with a capacity of 150-200 MW once the project occupancy picks up,'' Mr. Nanda said.

MIPL will be primarily leasing space to the interested entities at a rate of Rs 30 lakh per acre. ``We would like to lease so that we can maintain control,'' he said.

MIPL is already in talks with a golf course developer to develop a golf course in the premises.

According to Mr Nanda, the main thrust will be on export oriented and non-polluting industries. ``We are looking at getting an SEZ status for this township. But at the moment it is an integrated business city,'' he said.

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