• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Raja Simhan T.E.

THE WASTELAND: The Nanguneri special economic zone in limbo. - Bijoy Ghosh

Nanguneri (Tamil Nadu), July 9

A SMALL ATMAC-Tidco name board and two small dilapidated concrete structures in the centre of the barren land, adjoining a hillock, are the only tell-tale signs of something being done in the 2,000 acres of land allocated for the Nanguneri SEZ (special economic zone) in Tirunelveli district. The foundation stone laid by the then DMK Government in 2001 is not to be seen at the location.

Opposite the land allotted for the SEZ, on the Nanguneri-Valliyur road, is a privately run arts and science college; a couple of students said the college came about only on the hopes of the SEZ coming up there. However, the hope of a flourishing SEZ at Nanguneri seems to have fallen through even as the State Government now plans to reorient it with the Tuticorin SEZ.

A couple of months ago, in response to a query in the Assembly, the Information Technology Minister, Mr D. Jayakumar, had said the Nanguneri project had "gone with the wind". The then State Government had not carried the proposal forward, he had said.

In the latest development of the State Government, the Tuticorin Port Trust (TPT) is likely to play an important role even as the Tuticorin SEZ is expected to boost industrial development in the port city.

The Tuticorin Port Trust (TPT) has started discussions with the State Government, the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (Tidco) and the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Sipcot) on the initiatives to be taken up for the Tuticorin SEZ. An investor conference is planned to be held in December, and a concept paper on the Tuticorin SEZ would be released shortly, Mr N.K. Raghupathy, Chairman, Tuticorin Port Trust, told Business Line recently.

According to Mr Raghupathy, while the port trust would allot over 350 acres of land, Sipcot is also in the process of acquiring about 1,600 acres of land at Tuticorin.

It may be recalled that Tidco planned to set up a Rs 700-crore Hi-Tech Industrial Park in Nanguneri in association with INFAC Group and Axes Technologies Inc, US. A joint venture company, ATMAC Ltd, was floated to set up the park.

A senior TPT official said the SEZ should have large industrial units which would not only help increase volumes for the Tuticorin port but also generate employment for people in and around the port city.

"It is not enough to have an electronic unit exporting goods of high value. We need to have units employing more number of people," he said. Non-polluting and agro-based units could come up in the proposed zone so that the port could achieve a volume growth of traffic, he said.

According to shipping sources in Tuticorin, Nanguneri was not the right place to have an SEZ considering the fact that it is over 80 km from the nearest major port, Tuticorin. Transporting goods in and out of Nanguneri would be a major problem for companies, said the sources.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication

Stories in this Section
TN plans to reorient Nanguneri SEZ with Tuticorin

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line