Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday laid the foundation stone for the proposed International Furniture Park to come up in Tuticorin at an outlay of about Rs 1,500 crore, aimed at boosting economic activity in southern districts. The facility, expected to commence operations in the first phase would generate 1.50 lakh new jobs, the state government said. In the second phase of expansion, expected to take place in 10 years, an investment of Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,500 crore would be made, which would further generate 3.50 lakh jobs, an official release said. "The objective to set up an international furniture park in Tuticorin was to enhance the living standards of the people in southern Tamil Nadu by providing job opportunities," Stalin said.
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The government chose Tuticorin to set up the furniture park since the coastal city was not only the second largest port in the state, but also ranks third at the national level in terms of export and import trade. Stalin further noted that Tuticorin was also the Gateway for ships arriving from various South East Asian countries, Australia, New Zealand. Quoting experts, the CM said the global furniture market was expected to reach USD 750-800 billion and countries like China, Vietnam were leading in this business. "However, India's contribution to the global furniture business was low and therefore Tamil Nadu has decided to set up this park", he said. The proposed park will be spread over 1,156 acres of land in Tuticorin, which would be 13 kms away from the port. Nearly 70-80 per cent of the raw materials would be developed in-house thereby enhancing competitiveness of Tamil Nadu.
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Noting that some states were yet to recover from the impact caused by Covid-19 pandemic, the CM said his government was working in full swing to boost the economy after recovering from the outbreak. Recently, the state government released financial technology policy, export policy and memorandum of understandings were also signed for 109 projects. "Of this (109 projects), 1,74,999 new jobs will be created at an investment of Rs 56,229 crore. The projects are being implemented state-wide", he said. The chief minister pointed to various schemes formulated by his government to boost industrial activity in southern districts and steps taken to establish new industrial parks in Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Theni and Sivagangai districts. Stalin listed several firms including Bosch, ATC Tyres, Britannia, Amway, ITC Ltd, Syntel that have set up base in southern districts and commenced commercial production.
After holding several discussions with various companies, a Belgium-based company has evinced interest to set up a facility at Rs 430 crore to produce doors and windows, at the Furniture Park, he said. Eight companies signed memorandum of understanding to set up facilities at the furniture park at an investment of Rs 2,845 crore that would generate 11,450 new jobs. Memorandum of understandings were also signed in the presence of the Chief Minister for 33 new industrial projects worth Rs 4,755 crore, which would provide employment for 17,476. A new web portal for the investment promotion agency, Guidance Tamil Nadu, www.investingintamilnadu.com was also launched by Stalin on the occasion.
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PTI Inputs
