Dubai firm plans town for manufacturing staff

In what could be the biggest gated township for a potential 1,25,000 manufacturing workforce, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu's manufacturing hub, will soon host a mammoth integrated township.

The project, over 1,200 acres, will be in close proximity to the Nokia, St Gobain Glass, Foxconn and Motorola facilities.

The township would be set up at an estimated investment of Rs 12,000 crore by Dubai-based ETA Star Property Developers Ltd, said PHM Syed Ismail, managing director, ETA Star Property Developers.

"We have purchased 250 acres so far and will complete the process of buying the remaining 950 acres over the next six months," Ismail said.

He added the basic infrastructure for the mega township, 'ETA Tech City', would be ready in the next 18 months, there would be a further gestation period of seven years before the project was drawn to a close.

The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), which is providing facilitation and escort services for the project, has contributed 0.1 per cent (Rs 49 lakh) of the project cost, according to Ismail. The facilitation fee to be paid for TIDCO's services is being worked out.

ETA Star Property had brought in Rs 150 crore as foreign direct investment (FDI) for the project, Ismail said, adding the company was in discussions with two European and two US partners to finalise a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for implementing the project.

ETA Star is looking at a 40:59.5 partnership with the prospective SPV partner.

ETA Star is the property wing of the $4-billion UAE construction giant ETA Ascon.

"We are looking at developing a total area of 5 crore square feet, which will comprise all ingredients of a first-class township," Ismail said, adding, "These will include individual bungalows, apartment complexes, exclusive IT zones, swimming pools, club houses, an 18-hole golf course, a mini golf course, a cricket stadium, a school and a medical centre."

ETA is also developing a 3 million square feet IT park on Old Mahabalipuram Road and has launched a 4.4 acre residential complex, called Jasmine Court, at Porur in Chennai with a built-up area 2.87 lakh square feet. It was involved with the development of the Chennai CitiCentre shopping mall in Chennai over a year ago.