Tamil Nadu hopes that in the next ten years everyone will have access to piped water supply, education, healthcare, housing and employment.
The plans for this are outlined in Vision Tamil Nadu 2023, a document the Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, released today which hopes to drive economic growth through infrastructure development.
The Chief Minister said the vision document is not just about developing industries and attracting investments but inclusive, socio-economic growth that benefit the people.
Objective
The objective will be to improve quality of life by providing clean drinking water, sanitation, universal secondary education and employment. “Nobody will be left behind,” in the process of economic development that will see income multiply six times at current prices to Rs 4.50 lakh, Ms Jayalalithaa said.
The State Government plans to make Tamil Nadu among the top three investment destinations in Asia. It would upgrade infrastructure in 10 major cities and towns to create world-class facilities to attract industrial investments.
It estimates that about Rs 15 lakh crore investments will be needed across various sectors. The money will have to come not just from the Government, but also from the private sector and foreign investors, she said.
Investment deals signed
To be among the top investment destinations in Asia, Tamil Nadu will compete with South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia which are among the top 20 countries globally in terms of ‘ease of doing business' according to the International Finance Corporation, the investment arm of the World Bank.
The State Government will provide the needed quality of governance and support, she said. As part of infrastructure development to for industrial growth, the State Government's Industry Department signed two investment deals — one with Indian Oil Corporation to set up a Rs 4,500 crore LNG import terminal at Ennore to the North of Chennai — and another with Engineers India, a public sector enterprise to create a master plan for a PCPIR (Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region), a 250 sq.km area spread across Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts.
Both the proposals have been in the pipeline for long. The LNG import terminal is to be a Rs 4,500-crore investment by Indian Oil Corporation at Kattupalli, near Ennore Port.
The State Government and IOC have been working on this project to set up the terminal, pipeline infrastructure to transmit the fuel to various locations across the State.
The PCPIR is based on a Central Government policy to promote investments in petrochemical sector in select regions across the country.
A Rs 5,000-crore refinery by Nagarjuna Oil Corporation in Cuddalore, expected to start operations later this year, will catalyse investments in downstream petrochemical sector in the PCPIR.