Chennai: In the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Tamil Nadu Government has managed to attract a further investment of nearly Rs 20,000 crore from 18 companies.
On Monday, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami signed MoUs with head honchos of these companies which would entail cumulative investments to the tune of Rs 19,995 crore. The proposed projects are expected to generate employment for over 26,500 persons.
Among the big ticket MoUs to be signed was with Ola Electric Mobility. The firm would establish an electric scooter manufacturing unit in Hosur, which adjoins Bengaluru. The facility would cost Rs 2,354 crore and intends to provide employment for about 2,180 persons.
Bhavish Aggarwal, chairman and group CEO of Ola, said that this would be one of the world’s largest electric scooter factory catering to domestic and international markets. It will serve customers in Europe, Asia and Latin America with an initial annual production capacity of two million units.
Another key project formalised was with Torrent Gas Chennai Pvt Ltd which has proposed to invest Rs 5,000 crore to set up a gas distribution network in the State capital and its adjoining Tiruvallur district.
This was the third tranche of investment proposals in the southern state since the outbreak of the pandemic. Some of the projects were finalised during last year’s Global Investors Meet.
However, the opposition DMK had previously raised doubts about the MoU signing spree. The Leader of Opposition MK Stalin had sought tabling of a white paper on the investment deals.
