Edappadi Palaniswami lays stone for Rs 198 crore aerospace park in Sipcot

Chennai: Finally, Tamil Nadu’s quest for an aerospace park came one step close to reality on Wednesday when Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami laid the foundation stone for the ambitious project at Sipcot in Sriperumbudur near Chennai.

The aerospace park was announced by the then Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in September 2015 immediately after the Global Investors Summit held here during which investments worth thousands of crores were pledged by various businesses.

The aerospace park, expected to come up in an area of 245 acres at an estimated cost of Rs198 crore, will give impetus to industries that manufacture aerospace components. With the foundation being laid for the aerospace park, the Tamil Nadu government is expected to come up with a specific aerospace and defence policy to attract investments in the two sectors.

Palaniswami had announced in the Assembly earlier this year that the state government was keen on attracting investments in aerospace and defence sector and that a policy is being prepared with help from exports. On Wednesday, the Chief Minister also handed over land allotment order for 10 companies to set up their factories inside the aerospace park.

Officials said the aerospace park, for which foundation was laid Wednesday,  will attract Rs1,000 crore as investment in five years and create over 30,000 jobs. They also said the aerospace park would house engineering and allied industries for manufacture of aerospace components.

“The facility will come up over 245 acres of land at an estimated cost of Rs198 crore and is being implemented by State Industries Promotion Corporation Ltd (Sipcot) and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (Tidco),” a release from the Tamil Nadu Government said. Officials also said 50 companies are expected to set up their units as the government was keen on promoting aerospace and military hardware industries.