Industries forum to develop industrial estate at Siruganur

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Trichy zone's move to upgrade to higher capacity boilers and generators has got 130 engineering industries together to propose an industrial estate of its own in Trichy.

The industries, under the banner Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited Small and Medium Industries Association (BHELSIA), would be promoting the industrial estate spanning over 500 acres, planned at an outlay of Rs 350 crore.

Rajappa Rajkumar, the president of the association said the new industrial estate, with state-of-the-art technology and well-developed infrastructure, would come up near Siruganur, on the Trichy-Chennai national highway, about 30 kilometres from the city. BHELSIA has already acquired about 100 acres so far and would complete the land acquisition by 2007.

The potential growth of BHEL, Trichy, can be sited as one of the major reasons behind the association coming up with the plan to set up the industrial estate at Siruganur. About 60 per cent of the industrial units cater to the requirement of BHEL.

The remaining industries engage themselves in providing windmill insulations and structure to windmill industry. In the current year, the total turnover of BHELSIA members put together is expected to cross Rs 600 crore.

V Gopalkrishnan, executive director, BHEL, Trichy complex recently said that the boiler maker is targeting a turnover of Rs 10,000 crore by 2010. It clocked a turnover of Rs 3,600 crore in 2005-06. The company plans to increase the capacity of its fossil boilers from 500 mw to 800 mw, and of its nuclear steam generator from 500 mw to 700 mw.

The association intends to have 60 to 70 small and medium industries in the estate. Each member of the association would be allotted 5 acres or 10 acres. The proposed industrial estate is the fifth in the district. There are about 140 to 240 tiny and small industries at the industrial estates at Thuvakudi, Thiruverambur, Ariyamangalam and Mathur.

The size of each of these estates varies from 100 acres to 200 acres. These industrial estates, promoted by the state government, did not have even the basic facilities like street lights, drinking water facilities or an adequate drainage system, said Rajkumar.