CHENNAI: With the aim of enhancing installed capacity to meet growing demands, handset manufacturing giant Nokia today said it would be investing USD 75 million more at its Sriperumbudur plant, to bring total investment in its Indian operations during 2008 to USD 285 million, a top official said on Wednesday.

"The company has already invested USD 210 million in the country against a commitment of USD 150 million and USD 75 million more is being invested in its Sriperumbudur plant," Sachin Saxena, director, operations, Nokia India told a press conference here.

The Sriperumbudur plant had already manufactured 60 million handsets in a record 20 months since it commenced production in January 2006. Fifty per cent of its production at Sriperumbudur is being exported to over 58 countries.

The new investment would also help in increasing the product profile of the plant.

The Sriperumbudur plant mainly concentrated on low cost sets for which there is a growing market in India, he said.

The Indian plant has become the fastest growing Nokia factory in the world, he said, attributing the rapid growth to low cost and highly skilled personnel.

Of the 6,000 employees of the plant, 70 per cent were Women. Nokia had nine manufacturing facilities in the world.

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEB20071205061156&Page=B&Headline=Handset+major+to+invest+USD+285+MN+in+Indian+operations&Title=Business&Topic=0 :banana:

CHENNAI: The indefinite lockout at MRF Ltd’s oldest Tiruvottiyur plant in Chennai continued for the second day on Tuesday following non-implementation of industrial engineering norms laid down for operating machines and lack of worker productivity in the factory.

According to the Joint Labour Commissioner’s office, Tamil Nadu, a conciliatory meeting has been called on December 5, between the MRF management and the trade union leaders of the Tiruvottiyur factory by the Joint Labour Commissioner.

The Tiruvottiyur factory is the one where MRF founder KM Mammen Mappillai had, as a young entrepreneur, started a toy balloon manufacturing unit in 1946 which metamorphosed into a full fledged tyre factory in the 1960s, manufacturing tyres for trucks, tractors and ‘off the road’ tyres (for dumpers and high value vehicles).

Today the factory is beset with problems which had their beginnings 2 years ago. Sources in MRF told Express that an agreement had been chalked out in the presence of the state labour authorities and trade union leaders of the factory for following the new productivity norms prescribed by MRF for operating machines in the Tiruvottiyur factory.

While all the other factories of MRF at Puducherry, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu implemented the new norms, only the Tiruvottiyur factory workers resisted the implementation. According to some of these norms, only 5 to 7 workers can operate a machine but trade union leaders insist that 9 or more workers run the machine jeopardising efficiency and productivity of work.

“Even when free, workers refuse to be redeployed in some other department or work and despite repeated invitations for talk they have refused any discussion. Due to production losses, the factory had become unviable, so lockout was the only option,” pointed out MRF sources.

Last week a token 1 day lockout had been declared by MRF to bring the erring leaders to the discussion table but to no avail.

The Tiruvottiyur plant contributes about 10 percent of the company’s revenue. The company crossed the Rs 5,000 crore mark in turnover last fiscal.

The State Labour Authorities clarified that the real problem was the suspension of 14 workers and the non-receipt of the Chairman’s Award of about Rs 2,500 given by the company each year for good performance to each worker besides the annual bonus.

This year the award was not given, so the workers refused to work for the third shift which is done as overtime. Consequently, the management tried to rope in the trainees but came across stiff resistance from the permanent workers.

The factory has around 1,200 workers of which 800 are permanent and 400 trainees.

The government authorities stated that MRF had refused to restore normalcy and revoke the suspension of workers till the implementation of norms for the machines was met. Company sources explained that the workers had been suspended due to indiscipline which included switching off the mains and stopping the machines, which was a serious offence.

The opening scrip rates of MRF in the BSE on Tuesday were Rs 7,205 with last traded rate being Rs 7,309.90.

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEB20071204135645&Page=B&Headline=Lockout+at+MRF%92s+Tiruvottiyur+unit&Title=Business&Topic=0 :bash:

High capacity bus system and the road beyond...

Motorised two-wheeled vehicles, the bulk of the motor vehicle fleet, offer their highly price-sensitive users door-to-door capability, unmatched navigability in congested road conditions and ease of parking, and the ability to carry passengers and luggage, at low cost. It is therefore far more likely that these vehicle users can be attracted to buses, provided they offer quality service at a reasonable price, than to expensive options such as the Metro.

Important as mass transit options are, measures to curb personal motor vehicle activity and ensuring access for pedestrians and cyclists are also essential, for mitigating rapidly worsening urban transport impacts, but also to ensure that mass transit is effective. Mass transit will do little to curb vehicular congestion and other impacts unless it attracts personal motor vehicle users in sizeable numbers. It cannot do so as long as transit is less time advantageous than personal motor vehicle use, and the monetary and time cost of personal motor vehicle use is low..


http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/05/stories/2007120553611000.htm

CHENNAI: Service provider of print and related services, including business process outsourcing, RR Donnelley & Sons Company has opened the global outsourcing facility in Chennai.

RR Donnelley will occupy 55,000 square feet at the Acropolis Building in Chennai. With this facility, RR Donnelley expects to add a number of professionals to its global workforce.

The company has approximately 65,000 employees worldwide.



http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEB20071204135818&Page=B&Headline=RR+Donnelley+opens+global+facility+in+Chennai&Title=Business&Topic=0

:cheers:

NT Bureau | Wed, 05 Dec, 2007,01:50 PM
.
To rejuvenate the corporate houses with element of fun and frolic, Fitness One jointly with Excel Adventure and Entertainment Pvt Ltd is organising ICMO 2007 in Chennai on 8 December.

ICMO is the first in the series of annual events for corporate houses in Chennai.

.
This would bring together the team of employees from various business houses into a common platform wherein they will battle it out in a series of games in ‘Mini Olympics’ style.

The winners will take home a rolling shield with a bag of surprise gifts and prizes.

Ring 98407 29580 for more information on the ‘Mini Olympics’ for corporate houses

Chemical industries in Chennai closed after gas leak..

The State Pollution Control Board closed several chemical industries at Manali in North Chennai after a strong stench of gas engulfed the city, causing panic among people in several areas of the metropolis...

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Indl_Goods__Svs/Chem__Fertilisers/Chemical_industries_in_Chennai_closed_after_gas_leak/articleshow/2598356.cms

It's one more to the branch network of Corporation Bank. The bank opened its 945th branch at Mahindra World City recently.

At a function, MEPZ Development Commissioner B Vijayan inaugurated the branch while Mahindra World City chief operating officer Anita Arjundas launched the on-site ATM centre at Mahindra World City.

.
Mahindra World City School Principal Shanti Krishnamurthy inaugurated the safe deposit lockers at the new branch.

Sivananda Saraswathi Sevasharam honarary correspondent S Rajaram was the guest of honour at the inaugural.

Corporation Bank chairman and managing director B Sambamurthy was present on the occasion. Deputy general manager S Satish Nayak earlier welcomed the gathering.

Nayak said that Mahindra City is a Core Banking Solution branch wherein the customers here can have access to 944 branches across the country.

Corporation Bank is the first bank to have 100 per cent Core Banking connectivity, he said and added that all the technology driven products and services were available at the new branch for the customers.

3i Infotech, a global provider of IT solutions and one of India’s largest software product companies, recently unveiled its expansion plans in Chennai.

The company announced the launch of its first International Data Centre (IDC), which will offer managed hosting services for application and disaster recovery solutions.

.
As part of its strong foray in the $41.5bn managed services market, 3i Infotech launched of its Remote IT Infrastructure Management Services through its Global Network and Security Operations Center (GNSOC).

The company is also setting up mini centres of excellence (COEs) for Operating Systems: Microsoft, Red Hat Linux, AIX, Solaris, Databases : Oracle, MS SQL, MySQL, DB2, Messaging Solutions and IT Security Labs for Ethical Hacking and Vulnerability Assessments and niche Application Infrastructure solutions.

Located in 3i Infotech’s 7-storey Chennai facility, the IDC, GNSOC and COEs will be jointly spread over 25,000 sq ft area. Out of this, the IDC, which conforms to the Tier III International Data Standard, will alone occupy a total of 6000 sq ft area, with all access controls, CCTV, UPS, Precision AC along with Rack and cage facility.

The centre will provide secure data centre hosting facilities for its clientele in India and across the globe.

The GNSOC will provide customers with Remote IT Infrastructure Monitoring and Management Services with a 24/7 IT Helpdesk. With an operating area for around 75 people, the remote infrastructure set up is spread across 3000 sq ft area.

Commenting on the launch, Hari Padmanabhan, deputy managing director, 3i Infotech said, '3i Infotech today offers an unparalleled range of products across the insurance, banking and financial services, manufacturing and distribution landscape and we will continue to expand and deepen our product portfolio across the verticals we are focused on.

Customers in this space, however, are today looking at driving larger scale in their business at lower implementation cost.

The challenge for the CEO therefore, is to be able to relate cost to revenue. With the inauguration of our International Data Centre today, 3i Infotech has dramatically shifted its ability to service such customers to provide them a single point business execution outsourcing solution.'

Padmanabhan further added, 'With our domain specific products positioned as the core IT solution, the infrastructure being managed by us, hosted applications provided out of our data centre and linked to our back-end BPO services.

The business manager can today get a single point variable cost solution on service levels not available else where.

This unique end-to-end single point business execution outsourcing proposition, will give us a strategic advantage in the market.

The facility also enables us to provide business continuity service such as disaster recovery centres for our customers.

Considered the next wave in managed services, today 3i Infotech is able to provide its customers not just with data centre hosting services but also with the ability to manage a company's IT infrastructure remotely and anywhere in the world.

Increasing pressures for regulatory compliance, growing need for technology standardization and the country’s booming communication infrastructure are some of the factors driving the remote infrastructure services.:banana:

Chennai Mayor M Subramanian on Wednesday said the work on the flyover at the junction of North Usman Road and the MGR Salai would be completed by the February next year.

Speaking to reporters after inspecting flyover construction works taken up by the Corporation, he said the two-way flyover was being constructed at a cost of Rs 9.72 crore.
.
Subramanian, accompanied by the Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni, said the work on the flyovers at Usman Road-Duraisami Road junction and at Kopathy Narayana Road-Thirumalai Road would be completed in June and September next year.

In all, he said the Corporation had planned to construct 10 flyovers, railway overbridge and subway at a cost of Rs 120 crore to ease the traffic.

The planned works were on flyovers at Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar Road and Turnbull Road junction, Railway subways at Villivakkam- level crossing, Maniakara Chatira Road, and Jones Road at Saidapet, ROB at Basin Bridge and bridge at Saidapet Alandur Road.

State Transport Minister K N Nehru had announced that 300 accident prevention centres would be set up on the National Highways in Tamilnadu.

Inaugurating a new building for the Motor Vehicle Inspector at Arakkonam on Wednesday, he said the centres would come at an overall cost of Rs 54 crore.
.
The Minister said the State ranked second in the number of vehicles plying on roads and third in terms of accidents in the country.

The government had identified places where accidents occurred and taking steps to prevent the same, Nehru said.

He informed the medical facilities would be made available at 100 centres across the State.

He added the Transport department has planned to open two more Drivers Training Institute and Drivers Training Academy with the support of the Central government.

PWD Minister Duraimurugan said in the next five years, all the courts in the State would function in their own buildings.

In this regard, he said the government had allocated Rs 300 crore to construct buildings for the courts which were presently functioning from rented premises.

The Vellore District collector Dharmendra Prathap Yadav, Transport principal commissioner C P Singh and Arakkonam MLA Jaganmurthy took part in the function.

The long-pending demand for a subway at Meenambakkam level- crossing is going to be met as tenders have been floated though the plan for the subway at this spot was mooted in 2001. The work got delayed due to the reasons best known only to the authorities.

Bidding for the tenders came to a close yesterday at the office of the State Highways Department superintending engineer P K Selvaraj at Guindy. It’s learnt that the work would be allotted to a contractor within the next couple of days.
.
The Rs 5.23-crore project would be implemented by the divisional engineer, Highways Department having his office at Alandur Municipality. The work on the subway is scheduled to be completed in 18 months.

This is the fourth subway within the Pazhavanthangal and St Thomas Mount railway stations. The three are Pazhavanthangal, Thillai Ganga Nagar and Mount subways.

What has come as a shot in the arm is the MRTS project coming up at St Thomas Mount and that would connect Velachery and Thiruvanmiyur.

Another plus point is that the 200 Feet Road from Chromepet directly connects Velachery and commuting would become smoother when the road is thrown open to public. As these suburbs have almost become disconnected with GST Road on rainy days.

In last Tuesday’s rains almost all the subways were flooded, so the question raised by many residents is that would a new subway solve the inundation problem better than building an overbridge.

To this, it is said that land acquisition for a flyover would involve legal tangles and a lot of space had to be acquired, said a highway official.

Anyway, as things stand, it’s better to have a subway constructed than have a spot hit by traffic congestion :banana:

Airport project: land acquisition notices stayed


http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/06/stories/2007120654180100.htm

Nokia to invest $75 million in Sriperumbudur unit

K.T. Jagannathan

Chennai: Mobile device maker Nokia has decided to pump in another $75 million during 2008 into its India facility at Sriperumbudur near here. The announcement of fresh investment comes in the wake of a booming demand in the domestic market and rising shipments to overseas markets.
The fresh fund infusion is intended to beef up the capacity of the plant at Sriperumbudur so as to cater to the burgeoning needs of the local as well the emerging markets. It is also meant to improve the product portfolio of Nokia.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Sachin Saxena, Operations Director (Operations and Logistics), Nokia India, said so far over 75 million handsets were churned out by the Sriperumbudur factory, which saw the fastest ramp-up in March 2006 after commencing operations in January 2006. Employing around 6,000 people (about 70 per cent are women), the 3-shift India facility saw 50 per cent of its production exported to 58 countries. According to Mr. Saxena, exports were worth Rs.1,200 crore during 2006-07. Nokia, it may be recalled, had originally committed an investment of $150 million in five year. It had so far invested 210 million (excluding the $75 million now planned) into the Indian operations.
Mr. Saxena said seven Nokia vendors had committed to set up production facilities at the Nokia Telecom Park. Three of them had already begun operations. The rest would become fully operational by early 2009. Once it was fully operational, the park could provide jobs to around 30,000 people, he pointed out. More than the cost element, Mr. Saxena felt that the nearness of vendors (at the telecom park) would help Nokia substantially in terms of quickly responding to the demands of the customer.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/006200712060343.htm

Victoria Towers, OMR

3km from Coromandel Plaza

http://i8.tinypic.com/85xawqa.jpg

*I have put some photos of new buildings in this thread :http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=554221
check it out!*

Kodambakkam flyover to be ready next year

Construction of the flyover at the Kodambakkam High Road-Mahalingapuram junction will be completed by February next year, Mayor M. Subramanian said here on Wednesday.

After reviewing the progress in construction, the Mayor said that 12 pillars of the bridge were in place and the laying of beams and ramp on the pillars was under way. The project cost is Rs.9.72 crore.

The bridge would be eight metres wide and traffic would be permitted both ways.

The length of the bridge would be 460 metres.

Mr. Subramanian also inspected the flyover construction at the junction of Usman Road and Doraisamy Road. The project, which costs Rs.19.8 crore, is expected to be completed by June next year. The flyover at the junction of G.N. Chetty Road and Thirumalai Pillai Road is expected to be ready in September. The project cost is Rs.16.5 crore. The projects are being executed by Gammon India.

The Mayor inspected the firm’s casting yard where concrete blocks are being made.

Design alteration

The flyover proposed at the junction of Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Salai (Chamiers Road) and Turnbulls Road would be redesigned in such a way that it connects the Cenotaph Road and Turnbulls Road. The Corporation decided to alter the design after representations from residents of the Adyar Boat Club area. After consultations with Anna University, the Corporation has started to work on the new design, which would require fresh land acquisition.http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/06/stories/2007120658920300.htm

Subway-cum-override for Chennai

Chennai Coporation has finalised alignment for three new flyovers at Mint, Ganesapuram and Tiruvanmiyur.

These include a first-of-its-kind subway-cum-override at the intersection of Tiruvanmiyur-L B Road-West Avenue Road.

The structural design of these projects is expected by this month-end, sources said. Administrative sanction from state government would be obtained for the project estimate and then tenders would be floated immediately.

At the Tiruvanmiyur intersection, an override will be constructed on L B Road that links the intersection with Adyar, while a subway will be constructed under the bridge on the West Avenue Road that links ECR with the IT Corridor.

This will eliminate signals which are delaying traffic flow.

The civic body had received more than 10 drawings for the ambitious Madhya Kailash project from the consultants appointed by the TUFISL. http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7BEF65F044-9B8E-4AF4-9BE1-8DB74B728C95%7D&CATEGORYNAME=Tamil+Nadu

Hai Raj i thank you for reading and replying inspite of it makin no sense to you. I would take whatever u said as a constructive criticizm.

:)

I post messages here because this is an open forum for discussing issues relating to a particular Place/City. Some opinions might make sense others might not so take the messages that suits u and trash the rest.This is not a test paper or office work, for you to be so critical, but i cannot do much for those wasted 10 minutes of yours.

I agree its an open forum and everyone is entitled to post their views. It was not my intention to malign you as i wud have safely ignored your comments if it were not to be retorting to your opinion of "TN babus brains work only for personal gains". That was not at all in good taste and totally uncalled for. I have no idea as to what made you to post that, but that certainly provoked me to go overboard. My apologies. Lets not hijack this thread with off topic discussions. Have a great day and cheers!!

:)



I agree its an open forum and everyone is entitled to post their views. It was not my intention to malign you as i wud have safely ignored your comments if it were not to be retorting to your opinion of "TN babus brains work only for personal gains". That was not at all in good taste and totally uncalled for. I have no idea as to what made you to post that, but that certainly provoked me to go overboard. My apologies. Lets not hijack this thread with off topic discussions. Have a great day and cheers!!


Mr. Raj, you are correct, lets not hijack this thread anylonger. Even i would'nt have replied but for your comments hurt my pride and i am not afraid or ashamed to say that cos this is the first time i had been asked to quit a forum. My attitude or anger towards the politicos and beurocrats is not without a reason. I am unable to reveal the full details here, but i ve had sent some papers for the development of the city, based on my research work done during my stint at an American University.This work was done for a state in USA. Again these might not be "PATH BREAKIN" but would be a contribution to the city in a meagre way.But to my surprise these people have taken my model and coverted into a revenue model instead. This happened a few years back. To my surprise one other person had similar a experience. I do feel sad when my years of Graduate level research is being exploited in this manner. Thats why i had to say a few things that ticked you off. Sorry about that!
Anyways u have a great day and have fun dude

Moderator - I will not deviate from the thread any more - Apologies to you

exactly! This model made me puke at the very first glance. Good to hear that MK rejected it. Had it been approved, It would have been permanent scar on chennai's face.:banana:
hehe, even that guy with the turban didnt look to impressed :lol:
where is this, inside the assembly? its time they give these people some smart dresses instead of making them look like clowns, what is this, the 1880s?

Hey Raj_network, thanks for all those updates. who needs a newspaper, now that we have you :)


The cleared projects include, subways at Villivakkam Level Crossing, at MC Road off Stanley College, Jones Road in Saidapet, overrides at Cochraine Basin Road and Rangarajapuram Level Crossing in Kodambakkam and a high elevation bridge at Alandur causeway on Cooum.


http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE920071204230043&Page=9&Headline=Green+signal+for+six+projects&Title=Chennai&Topic=0 :cheers:

Whats the high elevation bridge on the alandur causeway? doesnt make much sense? are they replacing the causeway on alandur road?

AMTI Tech Park

http://i3.tinypic.com/870iqux.jpg

Lohamann Group

The Euro 190 millions Lohmann group of Germany, a leading manufacturer of speciality adhesive tapes and high precision Die-cuts is setting up its plant at Oragadam. Investment planned Rs 30 crores.From Hygiene to graphics ,Lohmann's product range covers a spectrum of industries like automotives,building and construction,consumer goods,electrical and electronic goods. Ground breaking done on w'day.

Key consumers are, Perlos, Laird Technologies,Foxconn and Flextronics in telecom, BMW,VW,Poly Plastics in auto, Whirpool, Samsung in consumer goods.

Montan Hydraulik

Montan Hydraulik has set up a new facility at Sholavaram to produce a range of hydraulic cylinders for exports to China and Germany, The 3150 sq m industry was inaugurated by the Consul General of Germany on w'day. source - ET

[QUOTE=Anniyan;16940522]AMTI Tech Park

Impressive Elevation and a welcome change from blue glass buildings. Where is it coming?

[QUOTE=Anniyan;16940522]AMTI Tech Park

Impressive Elevation and a welcome change from blue glass buildings. Where is it coming?

Industrial Estate, Guindy

The State Highways Department will be constructing a ramp to connect East Tambaram with the road overbridge under construction to replace the railway level-crossing near the Tambaram Sanatorium Railway Station.

The Highways Department called for tenders on Sunday for completing the balance work on the project, to the tune of Rs.6.60 crore. This includes a ramp on Bharathamatha Street and other works, including service roads and drains.

The ramp was not part of the original design. Seeking such an access, residents of East Tambaram had moved the Madras High Court and staged several protests in support of their demand. (more) http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/07/stories/2007120751980300.htm

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/12/07/stories/2007120755580100.htm

Indications are that KPC may be interested in IOC’s proposed 3,00,000 barrels per day refinery at Ennore in Tamil Nadu. The projects in India would be fed with Kuwaiti crude, he said.

Kuwait currently supplies around 2,50,000 bbl per day of crude to India on annual term-contracts and is keen to raise it.

“We would like to supply it with Kuwaiti oil. That is the main investment target for us,” Mr Al-Shuwaib said. The company plans to export fuels and chemicals from the proposed plants in India.

[QUOTE=Leo_r;16940836]

Industrial Estate, Guindy

I think it's called Tamarai Tech Park

[QUOTE=Leo_r;16940836]

Industrial Estate, Guindy

Anniyan, is it the same building as Tamarai tech park by pioneer asia group which houses DOW chemicals R&D facility?

New electric car assembling facility near Chennai

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/New_electric_car_to_hit_Indian_roads/articleshow/2604564.cms

[QUOTE=Anniyan;16941356]

Anniyan, is it the same building as Tamarai tech park by pioneer asia group which houses DOW chemicals R&D facility?

Yes, it is tamarai tech park. It should be ready for occupation now, but think Dow Chemicals is still operating from their incubation center in Citicentre building.

Total knee replacement system from Invicta ...

INVICTA MEDITEK LIMITED (IMEL) is a Public Limited company engaged in the manufacture of quality Orthopaedic Implants and Instruments. IMEL serves the field of orthopedics by supplying quality products for Total Knee Replacement (including the Implants made of Titanium), Hemi-Arthroplasty, Shoulder Replacement, Intermedullary Locking Nails, External Fixators of various types, all types of Dynamic Compression and round hole plates, screws with Cortical, Cancellous profiles, special thread sizes and in all diameters (with and without cannulation) and DHS/ DCS systems.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/07/stories/2007120759782400.htm

Both AMTI Tech and Tamarai Tech park are same..It is promoted by Ashok Matches & Timber Industries.

here is the picture of Tamarai/AMTI tech park by sprasv :
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=15170230&postcount=79

[QUOTE=kvijayasundaram;16949829]

Yes, it is tamarai tech park. It should be ready for occupation now, but think Dow Chemicals is still operating from their incubation center in Citicentre building.

I thought Dow Chemicals moved to Pune from Chennai after some protests.

http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=306832&subLeft=1&leftnm=1


The company has a manufacturing plant in Chennai to produce 30,000 units per month.

“We intend to expand the factory in the coming years. We are also attempting to localise the components. At present, we are importing leather and nylon to the Chennai factory,” Quek said. In Asia, Targus has factories in China, Japan and Indonesia too.

Apart from carrying cases, Targus sells wireless keyboards with mouse, remote controls, compact stereo speaker and laptop portable lapdesk.

[QUOTE=Sunny78;16960190]

I thought Dow Chemicals moved to Pune from Chennai after some protests.

I read an article recently about school children protesting near Citicentre against Dow Chemicals working in that building.

I don't think "high class" peoples' protests will be taken seriously by investors.

Chennai: The Ethiraj College for Women organised a national seminar on entrepreneurship on Wednesday. Food King founder and Chief Executive Officer Sarathbabu was the chief guest. Ethiraj College Trust chairman S. Jagadeeshan said entrepreneurship is the drive that motivates one to think about new ideas , a release said.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/09/stories/2007120951210300.htm

Source :

http://www.dinamani.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=DNT20071208110238&Title=TamilNadu+Page&lTitle=R%AAZLm&Topic=0&dName=No+Title&Dist=0

[QUOTE=Raj_network;16917830]CHENNAI: Chief Minister M Karunanidhi will unveil a comprehensive Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) policy this month.

The policy is being given finishing touches by the government, said Arcot N Veerasamy, State Electricity Minister.
--------

Source :

http://www.dinamani.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=DNT20071208132756&Title=TamilNadu+Page&lTitle=R%AAZLm&Topic=0&dName=No+Title&Dist=0 :bash:

Source :

http://www.dinamani.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=DNT20071208133109&Title=TamilNadu+Page&lTitle=R%AAZLm&Topic=0&dName=No+Title&Dist=0

Easton Bell Sports to source sports apparel from India

Chennai, Dec 8: The US-based $600 million sports equipment and accessories manufacturer Easton Bell Sports Inc is looking at Asia for sourcing in a big way.


Pressed to improve margins by cutting costs, a team of officials from the company headquarters at Van Nuys, California, recently visited China and India exploring possibilities for sourcing sports apparels.

"We want to take Easton Bell to the next level by building competitive operations. We would like to reduce our costs by 10 percent which in turn is expected to improve our bottom-line by $30 million," Anthony D'Onofrio, chief operating officer, told IANS here.

According to him, the company would shift its production to Asia if costs work out favourably.

Easton Bell makes and markets sports products under four brands: Easton (baseball, softball, ice hockey equipment, apparel and cycling component), Bell (cycling and action sports helmets and accessories), Giro (cycling and snow sports helmets) and Riddell (football and baseball equipment and reconditioning services).

According to D'Onofrio, the company sources products like bats, helmets and other products from the Philippines, China, Taiwan and Mexico.

A relatively small player in the sports apparel segment, Easton Bell has decided to focus on this segment as it sees immense growth opportunities.

"The fashion of wearing sports apparel is one of the great demand drivers," remarks D'Onofrio.

He said the size of sportswear market in North America is around $3 billion.The sports apparel segment, now dominated by brands like Nike and Adidas, offers good potential as the garments are not only worn by serious sportsmen but also by others.

While Bell brand apparels are targeted at the mass market, Easton and Riddell brands are focused at institutional and speciality segments.

"We have gained leadership position in other product segments and we are confident of replicating the same in the apparel segment as well," D'Onofrio confidently remarked.

Speaking about the company's India plans, he said Easton Bell would first source the apparels and later look at other products.

Members of the company's procurement team visited garment exporting units in Tirupur and Chennai to locate vendors for knitted garments.

Easton Bell has tied up with the Chennai-based Landmark Export & Import Private Limited, part of the South India Bottling group, to coordinate apparel sourcing in India.

According to S.V. Sunil Kumar, director, Landmark Export, there is an opportunity of $100 million business from Easton Bell.

http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=476 :banana:

Smart Card Medical Report History 4 All school going Indian Children - Says Anbumani

Source :

http://www.dinamani.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=DNT20071208133109&Title=TamilNadu+Page&lTitle=R%AAZLm&Topic=0&dName=No+Title&Dist=0

thats a big call :ohno:

btw, howz that related to chennai projects?

thats a big call :ohno:

btw, howz that related to chennai projects?

Not interested in counter comments! :hammer:

----------------------------------
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=516817&page=37 ....

Prakstar commented you on dec 5th. 07.. Its also suits now....

Hai Raj i thank you for reading and replying inspite of it makin no sense to you. I would take whatever u said as a constructive criticizm.I post messages here because this is an open forum for discussing issues relating to a particular Place/City.Some opinions might make sense others might not so take the messages that suits u and trash the rest.This is not a test paper or office work, for you to be so critical, but i cannot do much for those wasted 10 minutes of yours.
---------------------------------

[QUOTE=Raj_network;16691902]----------------------------------------------------

Source 23rd, 07 : http://www.dinamalar.com/2007nov23/general_tn1.asp :banana:

Total Acres : 75

Company : GMP Intl Arch, Berlin, Germany.
------------------------

Tamil Daily Dinakaran says today :

Project cost : 200 Crores

It is still not clear the construction company name is GMBH or GMPH.

On guessed search, found that as below : I guessed it is GMBH.

Company name : PERI GmbH

website : http://www.peri.de/ww/en/index.cfm

on Projects Link : http://www.peri.de/ww/en/projects.cfm

Pl confirm This is right german company?. and going to construct Secretariat. They dont have any renders on their website as well.

Anyway, news says that GMBH company team visiting the construction spot for last 2 days in Government Gardans and today visited Present Secretariat.

Visited CM's office and other dept offices, involving to finish the model for NEW Secretariat.

The same team is going to visit other states Secretariats and historical buildings in India before finalizing the model.

Can someone copy n paste the news? facing difficuly here.

Moving Good!....:applause:

Source :

http://www.dinamani.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=DNT20071208133109&Title=TamilNadu+Page&lTitle=R%AAZLm&Topic=0&dName=No+Title&Dist=0

Chennai: The Ethiraj College for Women organised a national seminar on entrepreneurship on Wednesday. Food King founder and Chief Executive Officer Sarathbabu was the chief guest. Ethiraj College Trust chairman S. Jagadeeshan said entrepreneurship is the drive that motivates one to think about new ideas , a release said.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/09/stories/2007120951210300.htm

Not interested in counter comments! :hammer:

----------------------------------
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=516817&page=37 ....

Prakstar commented you on dec 5th. 07.. Its also suits now....

Hai Raj i thank you for reading and replying inspite of it makin no sense to you. I would take whatever u said as a constructive criticizm.I post messages here because this is an open forum for discussing issues relating to a particular Place/City.Some opinions might make sense others might not so take the messages that suits u and trash the rest.This is not a test paper or office work, for you to be so critical, but i cannot do much for those wasted 10 minutes of yours.
---------------------------------

dude raj_network ,i'm going to have to side with rajarajang on this one............the above posts could have served a better purpose on the 'chennai discussions' thread or the healthcare thread.......and believe me dude........nobody's waging a personal vendetta against you........ please post the articles in their appropriate section......

cheers

dude raj_network ,i'm going to have to side with rajarajang on this one............the above posts could have served a better purpose on the 'chennai discussions' thread or the healthcare thread.......and believe me dude........nobody's waging a personal vendetta against you........ please post the articles in their appropriate section......

cheers

I agree :okay:

[QUOTE=Raj_network;16917830]CHENNAI: Chief Minister M Karunanidhi will unveil a comprehensive Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) policy this month.

The policy is being given finishing touches by the government, said Arcot N Veerasamy, State Electricity Minister.
--------

Source :

http://www.dinamani.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=DNT20071208132756&Title=TamilNadu+Page&lTitle=R%AAZLm&Topic=0&dName=No+Title&Dist=0 :bash:
Right from the times of the previous Govt there was no attempt to increase power output.Can u please name atleast one major power project set up in the past eight years.This was waiting to happen.Just to avoid power sector reforms both the previous and the present Govt was claiming that TNEB was run efficiently.Good monsoon led to increase use of free power by the farmers for their inefficiently maintained pumpsets.

[QUOTE=Raj_network;16691902]----------------------------------------------------

Source 23rd, 07 : http://www.dinamalar.com/2007nov23/general_tn1.asp :banana:

Total Acres : 75

Company : GMP Intl Arch, Berlin, Germany.
------------------------

Tamil Daily Dinakaran says today :

Project cost : 200 Crores

It is still not clear the construction company name is GMBH or GMPH.

On guessed search, found that as below : I guessed it is GMBH.

Company name : PERI GmbH

website : http://www.peri.de/ww/en/index.cfm

on Projects Link : http://www.peri.de/ww/en/projects.cfm

Pl confirm This is right german company?. and going to construct Secretariat. They dont have any renders on their website as well.

Anyway, news says that GMBH company team visiting the construction spot for last 2 days in Government Gardans and today visited Present Secretariat.

Visited CM's office and other dept offices, involving to finish the model for NEW Secretariat.

The same team is going to visit other states Secretariats and historical buildings in India before finalizing the model.

Can someone copy n paste the news? facing difficuly here.

Moving Good!....:applause:

It is PERI GMBH.There is no alphabet in tamil for the Word B or for the sound "Ba".

[QUOTE=Raj_network;16988053]

It is PERI GMBH.There is no alphabet in tamil for the Word B or for the sound "Ba".

Gmbh is something like Pvt. Ltd. in German. I think it is usually used for unlisted companies.

[QUOTE=Raj_network;16985019]
Right from the times of the previous Govt there was no attempt to increase power output.Can u please name atleast one major power project set up in the past eight years.This was waiting to happen.Just to avoid power sector reforms both the previous and the present Govt was claiming that TNEB was run efficiently.Good monsoon led to increase use of free power by the farmers for their inefficiently maintained pumpsets.

That's strange. TN's GDP 7 years ago was about half where we are now. Are saying all that growth happened without any additions to energy infrastructure? If that were so, it is a miracle and whole world needs to know how TN managed to do it.

I think there was some shortage in power during the last 1 month but media always goes overboard. Such cycles always happen. You cannot be power surplus forever. I think reports mentioned about 1000 MW temporary shortage and it was primarily because of flooding in NLC that had a 500 MW impact.

Very caustic comments on MRTS! Are they true? How is the patronage?

The architectural style often known as 1960s brutalism is alive and well, and is to be found in Chennai, in the form of the stations on the MRTS suburban railway line. Massive, ruthlessly-straight and hard-edged concrete pillars tower greyly upwards, to support even more towering clerestory roofs, which soar some 30 metres above the platforms.

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/12/09/stories/2007120950080400.htm

Very caustic comments on MRTS! Are they true? How is the patronage?



http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/12/09/stories/2007120950080400.htm





Yes, entirely true. The architectural style is what I like to refer to as "PWD" style of architecture. This style is standard for Govt. buildings. Basic white washed block like concrete frame brick buildings with the prominent columns on the outside sporting integrated concrete “sunshades” for the windows and doors that are fashioned out of cheap wood and decorated with sturdy steel grills. All this produced with poor workmanship and maintained atrociously. I suppose this utilitarian and cheap construction is probably justified in a poor country. But it is unfortunate the same style has been adopted unimaginatively on such a monstrous scale for something as prominent and permanent as the MRTS, which cost the state a lot of money.

Add to this trains that are basically circa. 1930 British design again produced with atrocious workmanship sporting a primitive paint scheme and typical Indian Railways standard cleanliness. These heavy trains running on the broadest of gauges any where in the world designed for main line rail lines and unsuited for an urban mass transit system have been hoisted on to elevated tracks with no design changes whatsoever and are operated on ballasted tracks. The heavy and extra wide trains combined with the outdated concrete construction techniques has resulted in bulky and extra wide double columned elevated tracks that run like a scar across the city.

To complete this architectural and financial disaster all this would have to be force fitted into the proposed new (and hopefully up to date) Metro, most probably degrading that system as well.

Yes, entirely true. The architectural style is what I like to refer to as "PWD" style of architecture. This style is standard for Govt. buildings. Basic white washed block like concrete frame brick buildings with the prominent columns on the outside sporting integrated concrete “sunshades” for the windows and doors that are fashioned out of cheap wood and decorated with sturdy steel grills. All this produced with poor workmanship and maintained atrociously. I suppose this utilitarian and cheap construction is probably justified in a poor country. But it is unfortunate the same style has been adopted unimaginatively on such a monstrous scale for something as prominent and permanent as the MRTS, which cost the state a lot of money.

Add to this trains that are basically circa. 1930 British design again produced with atrocious workmanship sporting a primitive paint scheme and typical Indian Railways standard cleanliness. These heavy trains running on the broadest of gauges any where in the world designed for main line rail lines and unsuited for an urban mass transit system have been hoisted on to elevated tracks with no design changes whatsoever and are operated on ballasted tracks. The heavy and extra wide trains combined with the outdated concrete construction techniques has resulted in bulky and extra wide double columned elevated tracks that run like a scar across the city.

To complete this architectural and financial disaster all this would have to be force fitted into the proposed new (and hopefully up to date) Metro, most probably degrading that system as well.

very true and well put ! My worat worry is that these structures leave little scope for expansion aswell.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Lohmann_sets_up_facility_in_Chennai/articleshow/2609543.cms

CHENNAI: The e190-million Lohmann, a leading manufacturer of speciality adhesive tapes and high-precision die-cuts, has set up its first Indian subsidiary in Chennai. It has chosen Oragadam, the emerging automotive corridor, to establish its manufacturing unit. It has envisaged an investment of Rs 30 crore to set up the facility and other infrastructure.
-------------------------------
While its key customers are Perlos, Laird Technologies, Foxconn and Flextronics in the telecom business, it has been serving car majors BMW and Volkswagen, through converters like Polyplastics. In the consumer goods segment, Lohmann has been the first-tier supplier to majors like Whirlpool and Samsung.

Very caustic comments on MRTS! Are they true? How is the patronage?



http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/12/09/stories/2007120950080400.htm

India has very very small numbers of eminent people like Mr.E.Sreedharan.

Yes, entirely true. The architectural style is what I like to refer to as "PWD" style of architecture. This style is standard for Govt. buildings. Basic white washed block like concrete frame brick buildings with the prominent columns on the outside sporting integrated concrete “sunshades” for the windows and doors that are fashioned out of cheap wood and decorated with sturdy steel grills. All this produced with poor workmanship and maintained atrociously. I suppose this utilitarian and cheap construction is probably justified in a poor country. But it is unfortunate the same style has been adopted unimaginatively on such a monstrous scale for something as prominent and permanent as the MRTS, which cost the state a lot of money.

Add to this trains that are basically circa. 1930 British design again produced with atrocious workmanship sporting a primitive paint scheme and typical Indian Railways standard cleanliness. These heavy trains running on the broadest of gauges any where in the world designed for main line rail lines and unsuited for an urban mass transit system have been hoisted on to elevated tracks with no design changes whatsoever and are operated on ballasted tracks. The heavy and extra wide trains combined with the outdated concrete construction techniques has resulted in bulky and extra wide double columned elevated tracks that run like a scar across the city.

To complete this architectural and financial disaster all this would have to be force fitted into the proposed new (and hopefully up to date) Metro, most probably degrading that system as well.

you just hit the nail right on the head Nirm. As for the highlighted part, not only did they follow their tradition in design and construction but in maintenance as well. pic coutesy: digitaljournalist @ flickr

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/217/475341763_c96683fc94.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8014243@N07/475341763/

India’s second largest realtor Unitech Ltd has announced a Rs 20,000-crore investment to develop 48 malls and shopping centres across the country in the next six years, in a bid to expand its presence in the organised retail sector.


Unitech currently has two operational malls in Noida and Delhi. After the proposed expansion, the number would reach 50 by the end of 2013. The company plans to develop over 60 million sq ft of retail space through these malls and shopping centres.

“In the first phase, Unitech will develop 24 malls covering more than 20 million sq ft,” the company’s managing director Sanjay Chandra said. To start with, the company is targeting metros and major state capitals for its retail expansion and will gradually move to Tier-II and Tier-III cities, Chandra added.

Of the 24 malls and shopping centres planned in the first phase, 18 are at the designing stage, while construction work has started on six malls. In the first phase, the company will develop malls and shopping centres in the NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Lucknow, Bhopal, Goa, Vizag, Bhubaneshwar, Kochi and Trivandrum.

Each of the proposed eight malls in the metro cities would be one million sq ft in size. The Gurgaon-based firm will follow its existing business model of mixed use developments for all its malls to ensure more footfalls. In the existing two malls, Unitech has built amusement parks.

The mall in Chandigarh will also have an entertainment park, while a convention centre will be built in the one developed in Kolkata. The company would follow similar mixed use models for other malls.

Unitech — which has a land bank of about 20,000 acres with a saleable area of 850 million sq ft — is using its existing resources for the first phase. Land acquisition process is underway for the rest of the expansion.

The company will lease out all the new retail spaces to prospective retailers. In addition to the minimum rentals, it would also enter into revenue sharing agreements to ensure better long-term gains. Unitech has formed a specialised team to promote its malls and shopping centres and boost sales.

According to global realty consultant Cushman & Wakefield, the percentage of organised retail in India stands at 4.6 per cent as compared to developed economies. Organised sector accounts for 80 per cent and 70 per cent of retail operations in the US and UK respectively. “The figure, however, indicates the immense scope and potential of the retail sector to flourish in the country,” the consultant said in its latest report.

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/247542.html

Elbit Medical Imaging Ltd. (Nasdaq: EMITF; TASE: EMIT) has bought 80% of a 135-acre lot in Chennai, India, at a value of $135 million from an Indian developer who will own the remaining 20%. The lot is zoned for a 1.3 million-square meter mixed-use high-end residential with sports facilities and commercial project.
Elbit Medical is considering bringing a partner into the project. Construction of the project will be in stages over the next 3-5 years
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000284689&fid=942

PVR, the leading multiplex operator has tied up with Bangalore-based Prestige Group to open and operate 60 new screens in South India.

According to the deal, PVR will be operating multiplexes for all of Prestige’s Forum malls. The partnership will be on a profit sharing basis.

Ajay Bijli, Chairman and MD, PVR Limited said, "With this strategic alliance, we will bring in our expertise to tap the synergies between us to expand and further cement our standing in movie exhibition space. "

The new screens at Prestige`s Forum Malls will be installed in Mangalore, Mysore, Chennai, Kochi, Hyderabad in addition to few new projects in Bangalore. The group would invest around Rs 3000 to Rs 4000 crore in all for these projects.

Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Joint Managing Director of PVR Limited said, “We will have about 250 additional screens at an investment of about Rs 3.5 billion over the next three years. ”

Irfan Razack, Chairman and Managing Director, Prestige Group said, “The Company is planning to raise a combination of debt, private equity and internal accruals to build malls in South India. ”

By 2011-end, the company hopes to augment the number of malls from current four to 30 across the country. The stock of PVR closed today at Rs. 332.45 down by 0.71% from its previous close of Rs. 324. It touched an intraday high of Rs. 336 and a low of Rs. 315.

http://www.topnews.in/pvr-joins-hands-prestige-group-28886

well 20 malls in 2 years was what all the newspapers were telling couple of years back.. but barring CCC none of the other malls have opened.. wot bout ampa mall, chennai metro - chennai metro mall opp taj (Khader Nawaz khan road).. nothin happenin..

well 20 malls in 2 years was what all the newspapers were telling couple of years back.. but barring CCC none of the other malls have opened.. wot bout ampa mall, chennai metro - chennai metro mall opp taj (Khader Nawaz khan road).. nothin happenin..

If there are 100 proposals or MOUs, only 20 to 30% actually take shape. This is the common thing.

Jayamkondam thermal power project had been in proposal stage for the past 20 years

well 20 malls in 2 years was what all the newspapers were telling couple of years back.. but barring CCC none of the other malls have opened.. wot bout ampa mall, chennai metro - chennai metro mall opp taj (Khader Nawaz khan road).. nothin happenin..

Every thing moves slowly in Chennai.One reason for the malls not forthcoming,Except Ampa mall which is taking unduly long time to complete,is rather a frugal spending habits of chennaities which is uneconomical for running business by setting up shops in malls.

Every thing moves slowly in Chennai.One reason for the malls not forthcoming,Except Ampa mall which is taking unduly long time to complete,is rather a frugal spending habits of chennaities which is uneconomical for running business by setting up shops in malls.

Another threat is "Hafta" collection from Appu the great Dada linked to Shankararaman Murder case and close friend of Arcot Veeraswamy. He regularly threatens the builders and demand money. He did that during previous DMK govt. and started it now again. HE was hiding in Bangalore when Jaya was attempting to encouner him.

Every thing moves slowly in Chennai.One reason for the malls not forthcoming,Except Ampa mall which is taking unduly long time to complete,is rather a frugal spending habits of chennaities which is uneconomical for running business by setting up shops in malls.

Mr.Ranga,

I beg to differ on this. Due to Govt rules, all projects are delayed, I agree.

But frugal spending habit of Chennai is a thing of the past and it is no more valid. The spending of Chennaiites on food, hotel entertainment and leisure (holidaying - even abroad) has increased manifold. The IT boom has also helped and the young Techies are also spending a lot of late. Pondy is gaining all that during week ends.

Please note that the concept of a first mall in India and organised retail originated in Chennai.

Spencers (old Spencers) was the first one - All goods under one roof.
Spencer Plaza is the first Mall in India.
Subiksha is the first chain store with centralised purchase and organised retailing. (TVS failed with their Shop & Stop due to admin problems).
TN Co Operetaive Society was the first from the Govt (or Co Op side) to have organised retail.

But TN lost the iniiative in the middle and Real Estate companies hijacked the Mall development. This is not due to the frugal spending habit, but due to reluctance of local developers jumping into the fray. (Same thing has happened in Residential Sector also).

Now things have changed for good and lot of malls are on the way. Though I can not give all the details due to Non Disclosure Agreements we have signed, I can list out the announced projects.

On the new malls that are coming up

Ampa Mall - ALmost finished.
GH Reddy- Prestige Forum Mall in Vadapalni - Planning Stage
Suryavardhan OMR Coro Plaza - Construction in full swing.
Indian Express Estate Club House Road/Whites Road - Construction started.
Near Hiranandhani, OMR, Allied /Arihanth - Construction started.
Marg Mall - OMR - Planning Stage.
Allianc Mall, Near Padi - Planning Stage.
Anjan Group Mall, Place not announced - Planning Stage.
Shriram Properties, GST Road - Planning Stage.
Estancia (Arun Excello), GST Road - Planning Stage.
DLF Mall - Mico Property - Planning Stage.
DLF Mall (Guindy) - Planning Stage.
Kishore Biyani, Velachery - Planning Stage
Srinivasa Shiiping - Biyani, NH Road - Anounced for IPO. Ready for construction.
Metro - Location not yet announced - Planning Stage.
Arenes Gold Souk, Guduvanchery - Planning Stage.
Gordon Woodrofe property - Ran into legal problems.
Cosmo FEC, Mint Street - Planning Stage

There are plans to build malls on Bangalore Highway, GST Road, North Chennai and ECR . We may have problem of excess in the next 5 years.

Lets Ensoy (slang)

http://www.prurgent.com/2007-12-12/pressrelease5594.htm

Every thing moves slowly in Chennai.One reason for the malls not forthcoming,Except Ampa mall which is taking unduly long time to complete,is rather a frugal spending habits of chennaities which is uneconomical for running business by setting up shops in malls.

I don't remember where i read it (May be googling will help) chennai is the 6 largest consumer of goods(small and big ticket items) in India.This is out of the 20 large/Medium areas in country.
Also chennai has a strong organised retail strucuture compared to many places.So competition is pretty stiff.
Just few months back we went to buy a voltage stabilizer. The shop in the mall was selling Rs 400 more than saravana stores for the same model and make.
Most of the mall generate more foot traffic and the eateries make more money than all stores.

Every thing moves slowly in Chennai.One reason for the malls not forthcoming,Except Ampa mall which is taking unduly long time to complete,is rather a frugal spending habits of chennaities which is uneconomical for running business by setting up shops in malls.

How long do we keep saying that? I take it that Chennaites earn the same amount of money compared to other counterparts in India but don't spend it. So, if they are frugal, it means they are saving more and essentially investing it smartly. If that were so, average networth of an average person in Chennai would be much higher than counterparts in other cities.

You say a lot of trash, ranga.

Chennai ranked 3rd in job creation --- Not bad at all considering the hype generated by Hyperabad and Bangalore. Delhi is ranked No 1 , but it was clubbed together with NCR region which is not fair.

Link to article

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Jobs/Tier-II_cities_catching_up_in_job_creation_Assocham/articleshow/2617193.cms

Another threat is "Hafta" collection from Appu the great Dada linked to Shankararaman Murder case and close friend of Arcot Veeraswamy. He regularly threatens the builders and demand money. He did that during previous DMK govt. and started it now again. HE was hiding in Bangalore when Jaya was attempting to encouner him.

How does this Appu manage to threaten such large builders? Did these builders violate some rules? Common guys, we don't need such loose talk on this forum.

Chennai ranked 3rd in job creation --- Not bad at all considering the hype generated by Hyperabad and Bangalore. Delhi is ranked No 1 , but it was clubbed together with NCR region which is not fair.

Link to article

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Jobs/Tier-II_cities_catching_up_in_job_creation_Assocham/articleshow/2617193.cms

Rightly Said About That But There Wasn't Coimbatore or Any other City from TN rather Showing Good Results.A.P Has Two cities Hyderabad,Vijayawada.:lol:

How long do we keep saying that? I take it that Chennaites earn the same amount of money compared to other counterparts in India but don't spend it. So, if they are frugal, it means they are saving more and essentially investing it smartly. If that were so, average networth of an average person in Chennai would be much higher than counterparts in other cities.

You say a lot of trash, ranga.

T.Nagar must be the largest special shopping zone in India :). People of TN and southern AP will always throng to T.Nagar, no matter how many malls are opened in other parts of city or state. Even Naidu hall, Nalli, etc.. opened in other parts of city couldn't pull even 10% of the crowd their branch in T.Nagar pulls. I think the sheer power of T.Nagar drives away prospective mall developers. Whatever Mr.Ranga says is always right, no matter how bitter it may sound.

Rightly Said About That But There Wasn't Coimbatore or Any other City from TN rather Showing Good Results.A.P Has Two cities Hyderabad,Vijayawada.:lol:

I am not sure why you always try to compare cities. Fact is fact. Leave Coimbatore, Tirupur itself created more than 1 lakh jobs in 2007 before the rupee appreciation issue. Lets don't compare cities any more.

Chennai ranked 3rd in job creation --- Not bad at all considering the hype generated by Hyperabad and Bangalore. Delhi is ranked No 1 , but it was clubbed together with NCR region which is not fair.

Link to article

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Jobs/Tier-II_cities_catching_up_in_job_creation_Assocham/articleshow/2617193.cms


Not here for comparison game, But it is truly amazing to see NCR region beating hands down on all other 5 metros put together (including BLR/Hyd)
Also surprised to see Vijayawada and Kozhikode than Vizag and Kochi/TRV in those states.

Plans to invest 1000 cr
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/12/13/stories/2007121351852300.htm

According to Mr R.S. Ashok, CEO of Rajathi group, the company has a land bank of over 300 acres in and around Sriperumbudur and in places such as Padappai and Old Mahabalipuram Road. This will form part of the company’s investment in the joint venture.

“The idea of the joint venture is to develop residential townships and commercial projects with an investment outlay of Rs 1,000 crore over a period of three to four years,” he said. The new company may also develop properties in Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi.

“The joint venture would bring to the table the real estate expertise of the Merlin group and Rajathi Group’s knowledge of the Tamil Nadu market,” said Mr Sushil Mohta, Managing Director of Rajathi Merlin.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/12/13/stories/2007121352190400.htm
Institute of e-forensics Ltd has earmarked Rs 250 crore to set up electronic forensic institutes and cyber labs.

Christened National Institute of e-Forensics (NIEF), the training institutes will offer short and long-term courses in cyber and mobile forensic computing, Mr Sachin Pandey, CEO of NIEF, said at a press meet


In the Mumbai centre, the company intends to take onboard about 400 students in different batches in the next one year. “We are looking at making around Rs 4 crore in the first year,” he said. The courses are priced for a fee ranging from Rs 15,000-Rs 2.5 lakh.

The company will have four such institutes in Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore by March 2008.

http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=307313&subLeft=1&leftnm=1


He said the company would invest the Rs 800-crore, non-FDI fund in redevelopment projects in cities and non-FDI compliance projects, among others.

In the first fund of Rs 1,600 crore raised from international institutions, Red Fort has so far invested Rs 1,200 crore in realty projects in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Red Fort announced its entry into the Chennai realty market on Wednesday.

It has acquired 10 acres for a residential project and expects to invest Rs 400 crore in housing projects in Chennai over the next six months.

Red Fort Capital proposes to develop a residential township, comprising houses for middle-income groups in Mogappair near Chennai. It plans to build 800 units and is currently engaged in discussions with various property developers for the project.

The cost of this residential project is expected to be Rs 200 crore and is likely to be launched by August next year. The company’s investment philosophy includes joint ventures, equity, mezzanine capital and land acquisitions for developing realty projects.

The company is also looking at building low-cost housing units near Sriperumbudur, the manufacturing hub of Tamil Nadu.

Court case delays escalator bridge project

The Chennai Corporation’s plans to construct foot overbridges with escalators are delayed due to a case pertaining to commercial hoardings pending before the Supreme Court.

The Corporation had announced that it would construct foot overbridges with escalators at three locations on Anna Salai (near SIET College, near Todd Hunter Nagar and near the Panagal Building) and one on Taluk Office Road in Saidapet.

Although a project developer has been identified through a tender process, there is a catch. The project developer was expected to generate funds for operation and maintenance of the escalators through advertisement revenue gained from hoardings on the bridge.

Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said the escalator bridge plan would only take off after the Supreme Court verdict in a case filed by hoarding owners associations in the State. The association had appealed against a Madras High Court order that upheld government rules on hoarding sizes and location.

The Corporation had invited bids for the project in July. Lakshaya Media, a private firm, had submitted the lowest bid. The bid has to be presented before the Council for approval and then sent to the State Government for clearance. The private firm would be required to employ a construction agency to build the escalator bridges and the work would be monitored by the Corporation.

At present, most foot overbridges receive little patronage from pedestrians. The steps are steep and beggars and anti-social elements occupy them. A woman trying to cross Haddows Road near Shastri Bhavan said she dare not take the overbridge as she once was almost attacked by two beggars.http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/13/stories/2007121350340100.htm

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Real_Estate/News_/Nitesh_Estates_Citi_tie_up_for_multi-city_mall_development/articleshow/2602272.cms

...Sources said the Nitesh Estates-Citi combine is also expected to show up with 3.5 lakh sq ft mall at Chennai’s Boat Club area, where it is also setting up a 5-star hotel.

It may be mentioned that Nitesh had won a Rs 700 crore bid for a nine-acre property adjacent to Boat Club earlier this year....

T.Nagar must be the largest special shopping zone in India :). People of TN and southern AP will always throng to T.Nagar, no matter how many malls are opened in other parts of city or state. Even Naidu hall, Nalli, etc.. opened in other parts of city couldn't pull even 10% of the crowd their branch in T.Nagar pulls. I think the sheer power of T.Nagar drives away prospective mall developers. Whatever Mr.Ranga says is always right, no matter how bitter it may sound.

100% right. TN people prefer T.Nagar shops rather than Globus, Lifestyle etc.,

I think no other cities in India, dump lakhs of money for advertisement of their shops! Pothys, RMKV, Kumaran Silks, Saravana, Nalli, Naidu Hall, Chennai Silks, Kumaran Stores rulling the Chennai retail market!!

It will be very hard for other retailers to enter the city! Even if they enter, they have change their face like that of Pothys or RMKV.....

Red Fort Capital, an international private equity real estate firm, proposes to launch a Rs. 800 crore domestic real estate fund early next year. It will be targeting high networth individuals and corporates.

The fund would be used for redevelopment of existing projects, non-FDI projects and acquisition of lands, according to Parry Singh, Director, Red Fort Capital Advisors.

FDI route


Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr. Singh said the company has brought in Rs. 1,600 crore through the foreign direct investment (FDI) route. Of this, it had so far invested Rs. 1,200 crore in various projects.

Now the company had decided to invest Rs. 400 crore in Chennai alone over six months.

The investment would be across low-to-high end residential and hospitality projects. Red Fort Capital had started its activities in Chennai by acquiring residential land at Ambattur, he said.

Land bank


G. B. Singh, Director, said the company had acquired 10 acres at Ambattur in Chennai. Development work on this would start soon. It was scouting for a real estate developer for developing the project. Similarly the company had invested in 100 acres of land at Sriperurmbudur near Chennai for developing low cost apartment with the help of pre-fabricated materials and each flat would cost less than Rs. 10 lakh.

At present, the company was holding a land bank of 1,100 acres across the country.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/13/stories/2007121357311800.htm

http://www.business-standard.com/economy/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=307347&subLeft=1&leftnm=3

Tamil Nadu is set to emerge as a potential investment destination after Delhi and Mumbai for Austrian companies, according to Walter Koren, director – foreign trade, Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.

An Austrian delegation is currently visiting India, covering New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai to explore business co-operation and investment potential in these regions.

To facilitate Austrian investments and help companies looking for business tie-ups in Tamil Nadu, an Austrian trade marketing office was opened on Wednesday in Chennai, the third location in India to have Austrian marketing offices after Mumbai and New Delhi.

The opening of a marketing office signals that Tamil Nadu is emerging as a potential investment region for Austria, Koren said, addressing a meeting organised by FICCI.

A number of Austrian companies are looking at investment opportunities in infrastructure, environment technology and machinery sectors in the immediate term and the automotive sector in future in the state, he added.

He said the delegation was impressed by the availability of skilled manpower, engineering know-how and industrial dynamism of the Chennai region.

There is increasing interest in Tamil Nadu and the state has the potential to emerge as a vibrant manufacturing base for Austrian companies.About 75 Austrian companies have established operations in India. Over half of these are engaged in production activities.

However, most have established operations in and around Delhi as well as in Mumbai and Pune regions. Only very few companies such as IDEA and Va Tech have established operations in Tamil Nadu.

How does this Appu manage to threaten such large builders? Did these builders violate some rules? Common guys, we don't need such loose talk on this forum.

Without this guy help it is difficult to move construction materials in and out of the city. They even threaten the labours not to work on certain projects.

T.Nagar must be the largest special shopping zone in India :). People of TN and southern AP will always throng to T.Nagar, no matter how many malls are opened in other parts of city or state. Even Naidu hall, Nalli, etc.. opened in other parts of city couldn't pull even 10% of the crowd their branch in T.Nagar pulls. I think the sheer power of T.Nagar drives away prospective mall developers. Whatever Mr.Ranga says is always right, no matter how bitter it may sound.

Its herd mentality.Why do they flock only to T.Nagar that to one particular jewellery shop and a specific cloth shop located there?Why don't they try to shop in other upmarket areas in chennai and its surroundings nearer their place of living?They save cost on transportation avoid congested areas and relish buying the same stuff available in T.Nagar.Its also true about one bakery shop in mount road where i observed a queue formed in front of the shop to buy cakes and bakery products a few years back during christmas and newyear.

Not here for comparison game, But it is truly amazing to see NCR region beating hands down on all other 5 metros put together (including BLR/Hyd)
Also surprised to see Vijayawada and Kozhikode than Vizag and Kochi/TRV in those states.

I doubt the entiire excercise based upon 4400 vacancies appearing in naukri and monster.com.My surprise is Vijayawada appearing in the list which has hardly any manufacturing or service industry.Vijayawada is a trading town dealing with mostly agricultural products.Further it is the dirtiest urban center of A.P known for gangsters and prostitution.

I am not sure why you always try to compare cities. Fact is fact. Leave Coimbatore, Tirupur itself created more than 1 lakh jobs in 2007 before the rupee appreciation issue. Lets don't compare cities any more.

As a retired Banker i can vouch for the potentiality of the coimbatore Tirupur belt.People here are not only enterprising but hard working and industrious.With out any Govt help they could convert an arid fit for nothing place like Tirupur in to a beehive of industrial activity creating vast employment and earning nearly USD2.5 billion in foreign exchange in the year 2006-07.Temporary set backs on account of rupee appreciation is only a passing phase affecting not only the textile industry of the country but also IT/ITES industry to.Even the only super power U.S.A is affected by mounting current account deficit caused mainly by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and sub prime disaster.

100% right. TN people prefer T.Nagar shops rather than Globus, Lifestyle etc.,

I think no other cities in India, dump lakhs of money for advertisement of their shops! Pothys, RMKV, Kumaran Silks, Saravana, Nalli, Naidu Hall, Chennai Silks, Kumaran Stores rulling the Chennai retail market!!

It will be very hard for other retailers to enter the city! Even if they enter, they have change their face like that of Pothys or RMKV.....

This is, may be, due to non-cosmopolitan nature of the city.Shutting themselves
in monotony not trying variety.I find such of my relatives coming from chennai awe struck by the variety of saris,readymade garments and jewellery available in
Hyderabad.While praising Hyderabad for availability of their choice products they also say that such variety is not found in chennai.Some of the products are cheap when compared to chennai.

This is, may be, due to non-cosmopolitan nature of the city.Shutting themselves
in monotony not trying variety.I find such of my relatives coming from chennai awe struck by the variety of saris,readymade garments and jewellery available in
Hyderabad.While praising Hyderabad for availability of their choice products they also say that such variety is not found in chennai.Some of the products are cheap when compared to chennai.

So do u mean that cosmopolitan look comes only if girls/women goes in trousers, jeans and skirts?? or streets to be flooded with globus, wall mark, parkson, life style stuffs!

M... then Chennai is not the place. Here tradition of dress still exist in new form. Here shops go for new and modern design with traditional hand. People like it and they are not much interested in other stuffs! Because of this, Chennai got the name Orthodox city!! This is the name given by media for keeping the tradition in the form of modern!

Not Cheap?!! You are not aware of T.Nagar then! Please have a look....

People from different parts of south india, goes for shopping here!!

So do u mean that cosmopolitan look comes only if girls/women goes in trousers, jeans and skirts?? or streets to be flooded with globus, wall mark, parkson, life style stuffs!

M... then Chennai is not the place. Here tradition of dress still exist in new form. Here shops go for new and modern design with traditional hand. People like it and they are not much interested in other stuffs! Because of this, Chennai got the name Orthodox city!! This is the name given by media for keeping the tradition in the form of modern!

Not Cheap?!! You are not aware of T.Nagar then! Please have a look....

People from different parts of south india, goes for shopping here!!

Yes,even men to wear such stuff.There can be no gender bias.Cosmopolitan means free from limitations.There can be mixed population of western dressing,traditional south indian hindu,islamic,christian dressing and traditional north Indian of all religious faith dressing.If u find more of this varied population residing in chennai as it is in Delhi,Mumbai,Bangalore and Hyderabad all sorts of shops displaying their wares co-exist profitably.

This is, may be, due to non-cosmopolitan nature of the city.Shutting themselves
in monotony not trying variety.I find such of my relatives coming from chennai awe struck by the variety of saris,readymade garments and jewellery available in
Hyderabad.While praising Hyderabad for availability of their choice products they also say that such variety is not found in chennai.Some of the products are cheap when compared to chennai.

I don't think the reason is the "non-cosmopolitan" nature of Chennai. We do have a good variety in the dresses. U get lots and lots of designs, varieties, models. T.Nagar can also give an additional advantage - "CHEAP".

So far, I have not seen any mall beating the prices of the T.nagar shops with the same quality. When we buy in the malls, we seems to be paying not only for the products, but also for the mall. We do find lots of big brand name products in the malls. but they dont seem to offer the same quality for the same T.Nagar price.

People here seem to give more importance to the Cost-quality ratio. whatever weget in the malls, we do get in the shops of T.nagar.

We can basically get anything there - Good branded items, non-branded good qulaity product or even beautiful casuals from the street shops.

T.Nagar by itself is one biiiiiig mall.

The Bangalore-based real estate developer, Prestige Group has entered into a joint venture with Reliance Industries Ltd to develop IT space on the arterial Anna Salai.

According to Mr Irfan Razack, Managing Director, Prestige Estates Projects Pvt Ltd, the joint venture with Reliance will look at a range of real estate projects. First among these would be the Prestige Polygon, a cyber tower, on Anna Salai.

This project would be coming up on the 2.8-acre property at Teynampet that Prestige bought from the Chennai-based Balaji Group last month.

Mr Razack said that Prestige and Reliance together would explore a number of opportunities in Chennai, including projects along the IT corridor. The joint venture brings together the financial strength of Reliance and the experience in real estate development, implementation capability and market awareness of Prestige.

Market sources had then put the purchase price of the Teynampet property at about Rs 115 crore. Company officials said that Prestige plans to develop a 500,000 sq feet IT park with a one tower of three basements and 12 floors.

Other projects:

Mr Razack said other projects that Prestige is putting up include the Vijaya Forum Mall in the heart of the city.

This is a joint development coming up at Vadapalani. The Forum Mall is a Rs 350-crore project for a 17-lakh sq ft mall.

Through another joint development, Prestige has started work on a project for office space development on Greams Road.

Work on the project has started with a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, he said.http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/12/14/stories/2007121452462300.htm

Without this guy help it is difficult to move construction materials in and out of the city. They even threaten the labours not to work on certain projects.

Do you have any creditable source for this piece of 'news' ? If so please quote it. If otherwise please refrain form spreading baseless rumours ( however true you may think they are and in many cases it could be true ). And even if you have good proof for what you say, why not report it to the police or make an offical complain where it matters rahter than spreading juicy gossips in a reputed architectural forum such as SSC ? Please try talking about projects and constructions please. The stuff like yours belong to the local tea shops, not SSC.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Auto_Components/Canadian_auto_parts_co_to_set_up_base_here/articleshow/2620856.cms

NEW DELHI: The $2.4-billion Linamar Corporation, Canada’s second-largest automotive component company, is setting up a manufacturing facility in India to supply powertrains and industrial components.

Linamar, which has 37 manufacturing centres across North America, Europe and Asia and is an original equipment supplier (OES) to General Motors, Ford Motor and Caterpillar, among others. It is looking at the option of setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary and is also negotiating with some potential Indian companies for a JV.

Linamar executive VP (marketing) Mark E Stoddart told ET: “India is very much on our radar as the market has grown in size for us to start operations. We want to start operations in automotive hubs like Chennai and Pune and are already in talks with some Indian companies for a possible JV. We would like to have a facility in India after our China facility comes full swing in 2009.”

The Chennai Silks to enter france!

Next showroon comes at Paris!

http://www.dailythanthi.com/thanthiepaper/14122007/slm1412pgefe01pa7.jpg

Its product has appeared in Trend.com!

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/100000-sari-set-to-enter-the-record-books-bedecked-with-jewels

M... T.Nagar shops goes global! I think already Nalli has showrooms in abroad.

IT IS TRUE THAT TNAGAR IS THE BIGGEST MALL

Can any one tell what change happened for existing route on Ponamalle Road?

Dailythanti says that due to new route, traffic was more!

http://www.dailythanthi.com/thanthiepaper/14122007/FE_1412_MN_12_PH_01.jpg

Did anyone know what decision govt. have taken regarding the 2 ultra power plant that was said to be proposed in Cuddalore,Marakkanam.

Can any one tell what change happened for existing route on Ponamalle Road?

Dailythanti says that due to new route, traffic was more!

http://www.dailythanthi.com/thanthiepaper/14122007/FE_1412_MN_12_PH_01.jpg

There are a couple of new traffic restriction on turning into the bridges from periyar salai towards egmore.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/pressnews/mahindra-world-citysouthern-railway-to-upgrade-station/17/01/317410

Mahindra World City Developers Ltd (MWCDL), the pioneer in Special Economic Zones (SEZ) development in India, today inaugurated the redesigned station building and passenger amenities at the Paranur railway station, adjoining Mahindra World City, New Chennai. A public private partnership initiative between Mahindra World City and Southern Railway, the Paranur railway station is the first to be redesigned and maintained by the corporate sector. This is another pioneering effort from Mahindra World City, which has built India’s first operational and highly successful SEZ in a public-private partnership.

Present on the occasion were the Chief Guest, Thiru R.Velu, Honourable Minister of State for Railways, Government of India, Thiru. T.M. Anbarasan, Honourable Minister of Labour, Government of Tamil Nadu and Mr. Arun Nanda, Executive Director, M&M and President – Infrastructure Development Sector, M&M, among other dignitaries.

With an investment of over 1.5 crores, the new station building has modern passenger amenities including:

Addressing the media on this occasion, the Chief Guest Thiru R.Velu, Honourable Minister of State for Railways, Government of India, said, “The remodeling of the Paranur Railway Station is a welcome initiative by Mahindra World City. This is an outstanding example of how the corporate sector can improve the country’s infrastructure.”

Thiru. T.M. Anbarasan, Honourable Minister of Labour, Government of Tamil Nadu said, “This public private initiative by Mahindra World City is a proud achievement for the state of Tamil Nadu. The is a step towards improving the infrastructure for those employed in Mahindra World City.”

Mr. Arun Nanda, Executive Director, M&M and President – Infrastructure Development Sector, M&M said, “Mahindra World City is the country’s first fully functional SEZ in public-private partnership and we hope to carry this immensely successful partnership with Paranur railway station. It is also our constant endeavor to provide infrastructure on par with global standards, which will enable Mahindra World City to attract the best companies worldwide. Redesign and maintenance of the Paranur railway station is a step forward in our commitment. This station currently operates over 64 local services between Chengelpat and Chennai Beach station with over 2000 people using the services to commute to work. In the next 5 years, we expect 40% of the park population to use the train services.”

Did anyone know what decision govt. have taken regarding the 2 ultra power plant that was said to be proposed in Cuddalore,Marakkanam.

PMK is opposing the one at Cuddalore but supports both Cheyyar and Marakkanam as possible locations. TN govt feels the land in Cheyyar is very expensive. Not sure what is the current status now but not much progress!

"adjoining Mahindra World City, New Chennai"
When did chennai shift :P imo its a bit too far off to call new chennai, maybe they should call it new chengelpet
oh and any pic of Paranur RS?

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/15/stories/2007121561220400.htm

Union Minister of State for Railways hopes commercial production will begin from October, 2008





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four deep borewells to be sunk, purified water for railway stations near Paalur

New ticket counter, first class passenger waiting room at Paranur Railway Station


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



KANCHEEPURAM: The Union Railway Ministry will set up a Rs.10-crore drinking water bottling plant in the Palar river basin in Kancheepuram district, according to Union Minister of State for Railways R. Velu.

Talking to reporters at the proposed bottling plant site near the Paalur Railway Station on Friday, the Minister said the project would be implemented through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, which was running budget hotels and railway canteens in various parts of the country. The plant would set up on the railway land measuring 9000 sq. meter near the Paalur station on the Kancheepuram-Chengalpattu Road.

Four deep borewells would be sunk to tap 1.20 lakh litres of water daily and purified water would be made available at the railway stations within 300 km radius from Paalur.

Two such bottling plants have already been set up in Bihar and Delhi each, he said, adding that drinking water stored in one-litre use-and-throw bottles was sold at Rs.10 a bottle.

Stating that the Tamil Nadu Government had already given its consent and around Rs.4 crore would be spent on civil works at the plant site, Mr. Velu expressed the hope that commercial production would begin from October, 2008.

As for the proposed railway lines to provide a circular route connecting Chennai-Sriperumpudur-Oragadam-Vandalur-Chennai and Chennai-Sriperumpudur-Kancheepuram, the Minister said the railways had assessed the viability of the project by conducting a meeting of stakeholders or prospective beneficiaries. It was up to the State Government to convene a meeting to take a decision on features such as routes and availability of land required for the project, he added.

Facelift for Paranur station


Earlier, declaring open the Paranur Railway Station near Chengalpattu, which has been spruced up with a new ticket counter and first class passenger waiting room at the cost of Rs.1.50 crore, Mr. Velu thanked the Mahindra World City (MWC) management for executing the project with its own funds.

Addressing a function on the MWC premises near the railway station, the Minister said the railways had recorded a turnaround in its financial position, making the most of private-public partnership projects such as the Paranur station facelift project. It had also mopped up Rs.9000-crore excess revenue, thanks to the public-private partnership (PPP) schemes such as ‘own your wagon’ and ‘invest in wagon’ schemes. A warehousing project was successfully implemented in Bangalore under the PPP module, he added.

As far as the Paranur station was concerned, only four trains used to halt at this station before the special economic zone was set up here. Now, 64 electric multiple unit (EMU) trains halt for a minute at this station for the benefit of commuters going from and to the MWC, he pointed out.

The Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai, Man Singh, said the average monthly revenue from this station, which was around Rs.1.30 lakh last year, had increased to Rs.1.95 lakh a this year. Paranur would be converted into a regular station if passenger traffic to and from this station increased in the near future, he added.

The Chairman, MWC, N. Vahul, thanked the railways for having given the organisation an opportunity to associate itself in the Southern Railway’s exercise of improving passenger amenities in railway stations. He called upon the railway authorities to augment the number of EMU services for the benefit of MWC workers from suburban areas of Chennai.

Chengalpattu MLA K. Arumugham, Tiruporur MLA D. Moorthy and MWC Executive Director Arun Nanda participated in the function

http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=3635

Chennai, Dec 14 : '2nd Bikex India', an exhibition showcasing motorbikes and bicycles began at Chennai Trade Centre here today.

The three-day event would bring national and international two-wheeler manufacturers and traders under one roof, according to Sun Star Expositions, the event organisers.

The event would also have various entertainments like bike stunts, bike race and bike marathon.

'E-bikes' would also be on display at the exhibition.

Source : Today Dinamalar

Chennai corp is taking action to build 4 escalators in 4 places on mount road.

Selected Vendor : Akyshiya Media, New Delhi.

Total Places : 10 places on Mount Road from Spencer Signal to Saidapet Taluk Office.

Initially 4 places as experimental : 1. Saidapet Taluk Office 2. Saidai Panagal building 3. Thathandar Nagar 4. Teyampet SIET

Start Due : in 3,4 months. :bash:

http://www.newstodaynet.com/newsindex.php?id=3107%20&%20section=9

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/16/stories/2007121656501300.htm

Ire-Tex India Pvt. Ltd., a 50:50 joint venture between Ire-Tex Corporation Berhad, part of the $250 million Penang headquartered conglomerate, and Premier Tissues India Ltd., will invest Rs. 15 crore in phases to set up an eight tonne a day foam extrusion plant for packaging material at Sriperumbudur.
G. G. Shenoy, General Manager of the joint venture, which makes the Premier brand of paper tissues and other products in India, said that “We have already started making packaging material for computers, including laptops, peripherals and mobile phones in a facility at Ambatur Industrial Estate in Chennai. Because of the Malaysian company’s expertise in serving global computer manufacturers, we already have customers here such as Dell and aim to grow our market share to Rs. 25 crore of the total market of Rs. 100 crore in India.

The plant near Chennai was likely to be operational by April 2008.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Tuobro has shortlisted three locations for its next shipyards on which the company will invest up to Rs 2,000 crore.

"We are in the stage of finalising the locations for our shipyards. We have shortlisted Kakinanda in Andhra Pradesh and two others are near Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Mundra (Gujarat)," L&T Senior Executive Vice-President (Heavy Engineering) M V Kotwal told PTI.

He said the company expects to finalise the locations in the next few months and would take "another two and half years for the new shipyard to be operational".

Asked about the investments on the new shipyards, Kotwal said L&T would invest between Rs 1,500 crore and Rs 2,000 crore.

"The new shipyards will be focusing on three segments. One will be for defence ship production, another for niche commercial applications like CNG and LNG carriers while the third activity would be for ship repairing," he added.

With the government allowing private sector participation in defence contracts, the company has been eyeing orders from the Indian navy.

L&T already has a shipyard at Hazira in Gujarat, which is mainly into building of specialised vessels like survey ships, offshore and multi-support vessels.

The company had won its first order for ship building last year from Dutch company Zadeko Ship Management CV for 98 million dollars

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200712160940.htm

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/12/17/stories/2007121751641500.htm
The Splendid Group, which is an offshoot of PL Raju Construction with over 35 years of experience in civil and defence construction activity, is also in the process of implementing an SEZ for IT on a 28-acre area in Chennai under a joint venture with the Nagarjuna Construction Company, Hyderabad.
SA Habitat, however, will focus exclusively on premium housing in Hyderabad. It has plans to move into Chennai, Visakhapatnam and other tier two cities.

Dr KM Cherian Heart Foundation, Frontier Lifeline Hospital signed an MoU with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (TIDCO) in Chennai for the launch of its Project Frontier Medville, a medical sciences park to be established on a 360 acres campus in Elavur village, near Chennai The medical village is slated to come up on the picturesque site located on NH 5 close to the Pulikat Lake. With the permission provided by the Ministry of Railways to adopt the Elavur village under the public-private partnership, Frontier Lifeline intends to provide direct and indirect employment to nearly 3,000 people from nearby villages by constructing Medville. The estimated cost for the entire project comes to nearly Rs 450 crore for three phases, of which nearly Rs 100 crore shall be invested in Phase I slated to begin by January 2008 and be completed by 2008-2009 financial year end..

The Frontier medical village shall house a 1,000-bed bio-hospital (that incorporates allopathic medicine with other regenerative medicines), a medical university, vendor's section, a yoga and meditation centre apart from the 5-star accommodation and the 18-hole golf course. The medical village shall also host the first herbarium in India that shall grow herbs found in abroad and also from within India that has therapeutic value. "With Frontier Lifeline, India also becomes the fifth country to join the Bioresources Consortium along with Japan, South Korea, China and Singapore," saidManaging Director Dr KM Cherian. Australia that shall train nurses and paramedical personnel. Said Dr Cherian, "By 2010, there shall be 18 bio-hospitals across the world, five in the US, five in Europe, the other eight in Japan, South Korea and other countries. The one built by Frontier Lifeline shall be the first and only one in India and South Asia."


http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/200712/market23.shtml

chennai is one of the biggest metropolitan city in india and also in Asia, IInd largest IT exporter city in India, No1 manufacturer for Automobiles Industry and textile also, But chennai dont have a sky scraper buildings..Why?..what is the reason that our TN government avoiding to built a multi storeyed building..Whether the reason is b'cas of earth quake zone or weak and loose soil land or Government policies or Non availability of technology, fire and safety management...

http://www.blonnet.com/2007/12/18/stories/2007121852282300.htm

Chennai, Dec. 17 Tamil Nadu’s power position is expected to worsen by the end of the 11th Plan period with no major project expected to go on stream before 2011-12.

According to projections by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the State is likely to face a 30 per cent shortage in peak demand and a 15 per cent shortfall in energy availability.

At the end of the 11th Plan, the CEA has pegged Tamil Nadu’s peak demand at 14,224 MW and availability at 9,923 MW. Energy requirement is estimated at 87,222 million units and availability at 73,810 million units (MU).

Existing situation


The State’s peak demand now is 10,334 MW and availability 8,686 MW, a shortfall of 15.9 per cent while energy requirement is 44,174 MU and availability 43,230 MU, a deficit of 2.1 per cent.

The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has said that it will be short of 1,000-1,200 MW of power during the summer of 2008. To overcome this, it would purchase power from Haryana and Assam and also ask for unallocated power from Central generating stations.

The CEA anticipates capacity addition in the State during the 11th Plan to be 1,152 MW and the tentative share from Central generating stations at 3,081 MW.

At an interactive session here last week, the CEA officials said Tamil Nadu would have to take advance action to tie up surplus power from other States.

Overall estimates


According to its estimates, the country will be marginally surplus in power at the end of the 11th Plan period. This is assuming that the capacity addition planned goes on stream as scheduled.

As per the projections, the peak demand at the end of the current Plan period is projected at 152,746 MW and availability 152,986 MW. The energy requirement is estimated at 968,659 MU and availability 1,022,705 MU.

At present, the country faces a 13 per cent deficit in peak demand and an 8 per cent shortage in energy availability. The peak demand now is 107,386 MW and availability 93,517 MW while energy requirement is 481,406 MU and availability 443,526 MU.

The CEA officials also advised the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to ensure that surplus power from captive power plants is fully tapped to overcome the shortage. For this, the electricity board should make the tariff more attractive for those operating captive power plants to run the plants rather than shut them down.

Tamil Nadu now pays a tariff in the range of Rs 2.10-3.45 a unit. The CEA officials said it could reduce levies and duties for captive power plants on the line of those in other States so that cost of power produced by these plants comes down.

Installed capacity


According to TNEB officials, Tamil Nadu has 826 MW of installed captive power capacity, of which 651 MW is consumed by the operators themselves and the balance 175 MW sold to the electricity board.

The electricity board is considering waiving demand charges to the extent of unutilised demand and also exempt furnace oil used by captive power plants from value-added tax, which would reduce the cost of power from captive plants.

TNEB officials also said that the board had permitted the public sector Steel Authority of India Ltd to transfer 5 MW of captive power from its West Bengal unit to the Salem Steel Plant, for a week.

This was the first instance of inter-State transfer of captive power over such a long distance, the officials said.
:bash:

"adjoining Mahindra World City, New Chennai"
When did chennai shift :P imo its a bit too far off to call new chennai, maybe they should call it new chengelpet
oh and any pic of Paranur RS?

You got to read between lines; that may be the new satellite township. Infact I happened to read the Second Draft Master Plan of Chennai (http://www.cmdachennai.org/), they have mentioned that Maraimalai Nagar & area surrounding Mahindra Worldcity should be developed as a satellite township.

I am not sure if Vandalur-Kelambakkam road will get to be the satellite township of Chennai.

Cross runway operations on trial

P.Oppili

CHENNAI: The cross runway operations on a trial basis were inaugurated at the Chennai airport on Sunday.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said the Chennai Air Traffic Control Tower now handled on an average 329 movements per day, over 800 aircraft transit through Chennai Area Control Centre.

The volume of traffic needed some enhancement of runway capacity as well airspace capacity. This resulted in two new initiatives – cross runway operations and bifurcation of area control centre, said an officer.

At present, the operations were carried out using the main runway for both arrivals and departures, which had reached the maximum handling capacity of 25 movements an hour. Hence, a new procedure had been designed to permit the use of secondary runway for departures and the main runway for both departures and arrivals to enable the airport to handle nearly 32 movements an hour. This would result in a significant 25 per cent increase in traffic handling capacity, the officer said.

Cross runway operations would help in increasing handling capacity of movements per hour and reduce holding time by three to five minutes for departures and arrivals, leading to lesser fuel consumption and aircraft emission. At present, the Area Control Centre in Chennai on an average handled 1,130 flights daily, which is expected to grow further. In order to reduce communication congestion, controller workload and enhancing the operational efficiency and safety, sectorisation had been planned.

Under this, the existing Area Control Centre would be divided laterally into East and West sectors.

Before implementing sectorisation, preliminary safety assessment trials were conducted, which indicated considerable benefits from bifurcation.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/18/stories/2007121853930400.htm

[QUOTE=chennaimetroblogs;17171502]http://www.blonnet.com/2007/12/18/stories/2007121852282300.htm

Chennai, Dec. 17 Tamil Nadu’s power position is expected to worsen by the end of the 11th Plan period with no major project expected to go on stream before 2011-12.

Another Source from Business line :

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/12/18/stories/2007121852282300.htm

No major power project likely in TN before 2011-12

State may face 30% shortage in peak demand, 15% in energy availability

11th Plan estimates

Peak demand has been put at 14,224 MW and availability at 9,923 MW.

Energy requirement is estimated at 87,222 million units and availability at 73,810 million units.

Capacity addition is estimated at 1,152 MW and the tentative share from Central generating stations at 3,081 MW.

Chennai, Dec. 17 California Software Company Ltd has acquired 49 per cent minority shareholding in Inatech Infosolutions for $6.17 million (Rs 25 crore). It had already acquired 51 per cent stake for Rs 15 crore in November 2006.

Inatech now becomes a 100 per cent subsidiary of Calsoft, a Chennai-based IT company that employs around 1,000 people in India, the US, Singapore, Tokyo and Egypt.

The UK-based Inatech specialises in providing Oracle solutions to clients such as APL, Cisco and Johnson&Johnson. With 157 employees in London and in offshore development centre in India, it reported consolidated revenues of Rs 30.54 crore with a net profit of Rs 3.6 crore for the half year ended September 30, 2007, Mr Vedante Srihari, CEO and founder, Inatech, told newspersons.

Inatech is the fourth acquisition that Calsoft had made in the last two years. Out of the $50-million revenue, around 35 per cent came from acquired companies, according to Mr Sam Santhosh, Managing Director and CEO.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/12/18/stories/2007121851270400.htm

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infrastructure/South_on_road_to_20_bn_industrial_corridor/articleshow/2629970.cms

NEW DELHI: There may be a second industrial corridor in the making. Inspired by the proposed Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, the Tamil Nadu government has asked the commerce & industry ministry to consider a Bangalore-Chennai corridor. Government officials believe the corridor would entail an investment of around $20 billion.

“The Tamil Nadu government is of the view that the corridor between Chennai and Bangalore already has several key components in terms of availability of industries, skilled manpower and other basic infrastructure facilities,” said a senior official of the department of industrial policy & promotion (Dipp).

Officials feel the corridor can capitalise on the strengths of Chennai and Bangalore. The international airports in Chennai and Bangalore and the two major sea ports at Chennai and Ennore can further contribute to the growth of this corridor. Bangalore owes its strength to Information Technology while Chennai’s strength lies in automobile technology, manufacturing and electronics. The corridor would also facilitate the development of the neighbourhood within a radius of 20-25 km.

The Tamil Nadu government has said many multinational companies have set up huge manufacturing hubs in Chennai. Several special economic zones are also on cards. While most investments are in the Chennai-Sriperumbudur corridor, companies have already started setting up industries beyond Chennai-Sriperumbudur, and up to Ranipet. The Tamil Nadu government now wants to take this development up to Bangalore along the same highway.

The Centre may soon ask state governments to prepare feasibility reports for the corridor and arrange for finance from Indian as well as international financial institutions. “We think this corridor would benefit from the expertise the government has acquired while developing the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor,” an official said.

Meanwhile, the Centre as well as states have started work on the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor. States have started demarcating specific areas to be covered in each hub, drawing up plans for their development as industrial hubs with special economic zones, industrial estates, logistics parks and knowledge centres.

chennai is one of the biggest metropolitan city in india and also in Asia, IInd largest IT exporter city in India, No1 manufacturer for Automobiles Industry and textile also, But chennai dont have a sky scraper buildings..Why?..what is the reason that our TN government avoiding to built a multi storeyed building..Whether the reason is b'cas of earth quake zone or weak and loose soil land or Government policies or Non availability of technology, fire and safety management.....any one please answer..

Marg Constructions developing new SEZ in TN

MUMBAI: Marg Constructions Ltd has informed the BSE that New Chennai Township Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary is establishing a multi service Special Economic Zone on 121.94 hectares (approx 301.32 acres) at Seekinakuppam (Paramankeni and Vellur villa ges), Cheyyur Taluk, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu. This is adjacent and contiguous to the light engineering SEZ admeasuring 125.002 hectares (approx 308.89 acres), which has already been notified by the Government of India.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/businessline/blnus/02181102.htm

You got to read between lines; that may be the new satellite township. Infact I happened to read the Second Draft Master Plan of Chennai (http://www.cmdachennai.org/), they have mentioned that Maraimalai Nagar & area surrounding Mahindra Worldcity should be developed as a satellite township.

I am not sure if Vandalur-Kelambakkam road will get to be the satellite township of Chennai.

Maraimalai nagar-Mahindra world city belt is considered as " New Chennai" and being quoted so in many circles

[QUOTE=chennaimetroblogs;17171502]http://www.blonnet.com/2007/12/18/stories/2007121852282300.htm

Chennai, Dec. 17 Tamil Nadu’s power position is expected to worsen by the end of the 11th Plan period with no major project expected to go on stream before 2011-12.

Another Source from Business line :

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/12/18/stories/2007121852282300.htm

No major power project likely in TN before 2011-12

State may face 30% shortage in peak demand, 15% in energy availability

11th Plan estimates

Peak demand has been put at 14,224 MW and availability at 9,923 MW.

Energy requirement is estimated at 87,222 million units and availability at 73,810 million units.

Capacity addition is estimated at 1,152 MW and the tentative share from Central generating stations at 3,081 MW.
A few months back TN was boasting of power surplus.Suddenly the State is reeling under acute power shortage. No power sector reforms like unbundling in to Generation,Distribution and Transmission undertaken in the state as done in the other States.No planning done to estimate demand and investments required to increase power generation either in the state sector,central sector or allowing private sector for the past six years.Any Govt in TN is scared of undertaking reforms in the utility sectors like public transport and Electricity.

Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy on Tuesday said the Centre would soon sanction Metro Rail for Chennai City, making it the first metropolis in the country to have three urban rail networks, besides a public bus transport system.

"The Delhi metro has been extremely successful and has also helped reduce pollution. The Metro for Chennai will be sanctioned soon, he said at a CII seminar here on Tuesday on 'INFRA 2007 - MAP tomorrow's Chennai'.

He said the Centre was in 'active contact' with the Tamil Nadu government. "The foundation stone for the project will be laid in the next one year. In three years :shocked:, we will be able to provide metro rail for Chennai."

The minister said a Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) was also on the anvil for Chennai, for which the centre would contribute half its cost.

The state government recently approved the metro rail project for Chennai, which already has a suburban train system and the elevated Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS). The Metro is expected to cover large tracts of Chennai, which are not covered by the other two networks.

The total cost of the 40 km project, of which 14 km will be underground, would be between Rs 7,000 and Rs 8,000 crores. "One kilometer on an elevated stretch would cost around Rs 120 crores," he said.

He added that the Tamil Nadu government did not want a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for the Metro Rail.

"The government of Tamil Nadu and the Government of India will invest in the project to an equal degree and the rest will be raised as loan from a Japanese Bank," he said.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200712181859.htm

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200712181859.htm

When they talk about the three rail network, are they talking about the electric train and elevated MRT (parakum rail) as sperate ones? why so? technically both are electric land trains with smilair speed range, arent they?

Chennai Metro Rail firm’s first meeting on December 27

Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) formed by the State Government for implementing the metro rail project in the city has taken shape with the registration of the company recently.

The corporate office will start functioning soon from Ascendas near Tidel Park on the Rajiv Gandhi Salai (Old Mahabalipuram Road) and the first board meeting will be held on December 27, according to official sources.

Apart from Chairman S. Muneer Hoda, secretaries of Finance, Transport and Housing are among the members of the board.

As the project had already been cleared by the Union Urban Development Ministry, it has been sent to the Planning Commission for approval. Once the Planning Commission gives its approval, it will be forwarded to Japan Bank for International Cooperation for its funding.

Officials foresee no hitch in getting funds. The project, which will be partly underground and partly elevated, is now estimated to cost Rs.9,750 crore.
Tenders to be floated soon

The company will soon float tenders for appointing a consultancy firm, which will in charge of implementing the project. The firm, in turn, will call for a global tender for implementing the project. In all probability, the work will start from February.

The State Government wanted to take up the work as early as possible to avoid any cost escalation.

Originally the project was estimated to cost Rs. 5,500 crore which had escalated to Rs. 7,000 crore. The present cost was Rs. 9,750 crore, the sources added.

Initial project reports said the first corridor from Toll Gate to Kamaraj Airport would cover 27.3 kilometres with 22 stations. The second corridor would run from Fort Station to Guindy with 18 stations along 21.8 kilometres. Much of the elevated track was proposed along Anna Salai.

In places where the road was narrow, the rail corridor would be underground. Passages to connect commuters from suburban lines to the Metro rail corridors were also proposed to integrate the project with the existing transport network.

Chennai is in the list of cities, with population of three million and above, where the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited had recommended metro rail project to the Planning Commission.

While Delhi and Kolkata have such facilities, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore are the other cities that would get the facility. http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/19/stories/2007121954520400.htm

I hope they keep future needs for expansion of Anna Salai in mind while building the metro line. There has been a proposal to build an elevated expressway along Anna Salai, though it has remained on the drawing board for a long time. Those plans will be severely affected by an elevated metro line along this route, unless alternative plans for road capacity expansion are drawn up. The problem is that there isn't a single unified authority for integrated transportation planning. At least in Delhi, the Delhi Urban Arts Commission partly fulfills this role (even though formal approval from it is required on aesthetic rather than practical considerations, but it still has de-facto expanded its role). In Mumbai, the MMRDA is fulfilling this role (all road, rail and metro projects are being implemented by it). In Chennai's case, CMDA could potentially fulfill the role, but the metro rail has been kept outside its ambit and non-metro rail projects also have a very limited CMDA role.

Chennai should be the pioneer it used to be and set up a unified transportation authority. Everybody, including planners in the state, agrees that it is a good idea. Will it happen? Is there anybody listening?

Chennai (PTI): The Tamil Nadu government planned to make the state 'Slum-free' by 2013 and was serious about removing encroachments, a top official said on Tuesday.

Slum-dwellers would be accommodated in 45,000 houses which the state planned to build, R Sellamuthu, Tamil Nadu Housing Secretary said at a Confederation of Indian Industry conference here.

Earlier, the CII unveiled a proposal at the conference to make Chennai a 'Megapolitan City' by redefining the Marakkanam, Arakkonam and Pulicat (MAP) region.

The MAP would be a 'model city master plan' to be replicated in the rest of the world, the proposal said.

The proposal based on a study by the CII said Chennai is surrounded by many micro satellites or potential urban centres and MAP could be a solution to infrastructure problems, create more employment opportunities and affordable living conditions with world class amenities and guarantee increased revenue to the government.

It said MAP could help sustain ecology, develop a balanced ecosystem and protect the agriculture potential areas, increase GDP productivity, attract FDIs to the tune of about USD 15 billion and make the state No.1 destination for investments and employment opportunities in India.

Marakkanam is a panchayat town in Villupuram district, Arakkonam is a mid-sized town in Vellore district and Pulicat is a town in the Tiruvallur district.

The MAP region will consist of other hubs like Kanchipuram, Maduranthakam, Sriperumbudur and Ennore, with each of them having four to five sub nodes connected to them. Each of these are to be linked by a major high speed corridor with eight to 10 lanes, and will also be linked by a metro rail system.

I hope they keep future needs for expansion of Anna Salai in mind while building the metro line. There has been a proposal to build an elevated expressway along Anna Salai, though it has remained on the drawing board for a long time.

Interesting, elevated express way along the Anna Salai!

Can you tell us more about it. In which period this proposal came? Expressway from Central to AP above the Anna Salai with interchage at KH/Cathedral road, Teynampet signal, Nandhanam, Saidapet, Guindy and Kathipara will reduce the traffic in Chennai city to a great extent!

Alignment designs ready for new flyovers

Kannal Achuthan

Chennai Corporation will commission an independent consultancy firm to check the designs

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/19/images/2007121960590301.jpg

Photo: N. Sridharan

Relief round the corner: A view of the Thiruvanmiyur – Lattice Bridge Road junction, where a flyover-cum-subway will be constructed by the Chennai Corporation. —

Chennai: The Chennai Corporation is ready with the alignment designs for new flyovers at the Ganesapuram and Mint junctions in north Chennai and Thiruvanmiyur junction in south Chennai.

A unique design has been chosen for the bridge at the junction of Thiruvanmiyur-Lattice Bridge-West Avenue Roads. It consists of a subway-cum-flyover.

A four-lane flyover has been planned on Lattice Bridge Road, while a four-lane subway has been planned under the flyover on the West Avenue Road that links the East Coast Road with the IT corridor.

Designs prepared by private firms


Corporation officials said the designs prepared by private firms Wilbur Smith Associates (for south Chennai) and Mukesh Associates (for north Chennai) would be checked by an independent consultancy firm.

The firm would also examine the site for physical, geotechnical and hydrological conditions.

North Chennai projects


In north Chennai, a four-lane flyover has been proposed at the Mint junction. The flyover will come up on Basin Bridge Road and Old Jail Road.

Widening


Also, the Basin Bridge Road would be widened up to the Prakasam Road junction. The flyover at Ganesapuram would come up on Dr. Ambedkar College Road with one end near the Otteri nullah and the other near Stephenson Road.

The project would be of great help to residents of Vyasarpadi as the Jeeva subway is rendered unusable during heavy rain.

The Corporation had also called for flyover designs at the Madhya Kailash junction in Adyar. :banana::banana:

The alignment has not yet been finalised.

Project costs for the bridges would be worked out after the designs were final, said a Corporation official. Bids would be invited for the construction and the firm that wins the contract would be given 15 months for project implementation.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/19/stories/2007121960590300.htm

What about flyover infront of Tidelpark??

Final approval for Chennai metro rail project soon

A. Srivathsan

Centre to help Tamil Nadu Government implement Bus Rapid Transit System in four cities, says Jaipal Reddy


Chennai: The Government of India will soon give its final approval for the Chennai Metro Rail project and help the State Government implement the Bus Rapid Transit System in Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchi and Madurai, said Jaipal Reddy, Union Minster for Urban Development.

Speaking at the “INFRA 2007-MAP Tomorrow’s Chennai,” a conference organised by the CII, the Minister said that urbanisation had become a universal phenomenon that offered exciting opportunities. :bash::bash:Developing cities far off from metros would not be useful.:bash::bash: Instead, urban nodes around cities should be developed, he said. He cited the example of National Capital Region comprising cities such as Gurgaon and Noida that helped reduced the net rate of migration to Delhi.

He spoke about the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), an initiative of the UPA Government with a contribution of Rs. 50,000 crore from the Centre, that sought an equal contribution from State Governments and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). This scheme, he said, aimed to encourage capacity building in urban development sector. In order to avail themselves these incentives, the State Governments were encouraged to scrap the Urban Land Ceiling Act, bring down the rates of stamp duty and reform ULBs, he said.

Need for integral plan


In her special address, Kanimozhi, Member of Parliament, said urbanisation was integral to the economic activity and any development without inclusiveness would lead to violence and unhappiness across the world.

She said that about two thirds of the contribution to the GDP came from urban centres. Uncontrolled growth of these centres would put pressure on infrastructure and burden their capacity. Hence, it was important to have an integrated regional plan, she said.

R Sellamuthu, Secretary, Housing & Urban Development, Government of Tamil Nadu, said that inclusive growth and holistic plan were important for urban development. Chennai would be made slum-free by 2030, he said. He suggested that the value of the lands where the slums were located had gone up and this could be explored while developing them through private participation.

The CII proposed to the government that a contiguous area 4,756 sq km around Chennai extending up to Pulicat in the north, Marakanam in the south and Arakonam in the west be declared as a new region for urban planning.

Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman, CII, Tamil Nadu, said that this region could increase its contribution to the GDP by 20 times.

T.R.Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman CMDA, said that the proposal for 4,756-sq km region was too large and included about five districts. This would not be viable and needed to be scaled down.

Vikram Kapur, managing director and chief executive officer, TNUDF, cautioned that such regional plans must not be Chennai-centric. Instead, they must focus on the many urban centres in the region and take the local bodies on board, he suggested.

Tamil Nadu Industries Secretary M.F. Farooqui reminded that land acquisition for development would not be a problem as long as fair value was provided.

In his theme address, G R K Reddy, Chairman, Infra 2007 and Vice-Chairman, Chennai Zone, said the population of Chennai would reach 10 million in the next ten years. It was important to increase investment in creating affordable houses and upgrade the skill of people from tier II cities that would help their employment, he said.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/19/stories/2007121961701000.htm

Nemilichery railway station project yet to gain momentum!!

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/19/stories/2007121961210400.htm

Women drivers planned for night trips of IT firms

SALEM: Amid growing concern about safety of women working in IT firms, the State Government has decided to rope in qualified women drivers in Chennai.

the State had identified 300 spots as accident prone areas and had started installing surveillance cameras at a cost of Rs. 48 crore to keep track of erring drivers and violators.

Under the first phase of the programme, cameras worth Rs. 3 crore have been installed in Trichy and soon the roads to Chennai would be fitted with them, he said.

To meet the growing demand for drivers in cities like Chennai, the Department of Transport had decided to outsource 2,000 qualified drivers from Salem, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Trichy, Thanjavur and Sivaganga

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/19/stories/2007121951710300.htm

When they talk about the three rail network, are they talking about the electric train and elevated MRT (parakum rail) as sperate ones? why so? technically both are electric land trains with smilair speed range, arent they?

But MRTS has dedicated corridor! so they might be considering it separately!

As told by the CII regarding the MAP project wheather they are interested to develop the area of Marakkanam,Arrakonam,Pulicate alone or the region that lies between Chennai and MAP.

^^

Obviously it will be entire region. What we will acheive if the develop Arrakonam, Pulicat and Marakanam alone!!

Underground duct project for more roads

The Chennai Corporation’s pilot initiative to lay common underground ducts to pass fibre optic cables of various Internet and cable TV service providers has been extended to more roads in the city.

After meetings Corporation officials, Internet and cable TV service providers have formed a ‘Chennai cable consortium’ to lay underground ducts along Cathedral Road, Radhakrishnan Salai, Anna Nagar Second Avenue and Anna Nagar Third Avenue. The project was first launched in Nungambakkam High Road.

In order to ensure compliance from all service providers, the Corporation will not grant road cut permissions for laying telecom and cable TV wires along these roads for the next two years.

At present, many of the service providers use streetlight poles and buildings to carry cables across localities.

Tangled cables clutter the cityscape and low-hanging cables obstruct movement and also lead to accidents.

Although the consortium would be in charge of the ducting and road restoration, the Corporation would oversee the work. Service providers in the consortium would have separate pipes for their companies’ cables.

To facilitate repairs and maintenance, inspection chambers would be built at intervals.

This would do away with the need to cut roads every time a fault occurred. Each service provider would have to pay track rent of Rs. 9,400 per km per annum to the Corporation for the use of the ducts.

The digging of roads for the underground ducts will start early next year after the monsoon rains, said Corporation officials.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/19/stories/2007121960600300.htm

On what basic they have choosen till Marakkanam since it is about 90km from chennai.Other two locations are ok ie.Arakonam,Pulicate.Development should take place till mahabs and then it should reach marakanam which is about 40km from mahabs.Also u must take into account that chennai will not be developing only in this direction also west ,north ,SW,NW directions will be developing.

The CII proposed to the government that a contiguous area 4,756 sq km around Chennai extending up to Pulicat in the north, Marakanam in the south and Arakonam in the west be declared as a new region for urban planning.

T.R.Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman CMDA, said that the proposal for 4,756-sq km region was too large and included about five districts. This would not be viable and needed to be scaled down

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/19/stories/2007121961701000.htm

^^^^i'm not sure about their reasoning.....!!!

Alignment designs ready for new flyovers

Kannal Achuthan

Chennai Corporation will commission an independent consultancy firm to check the designs

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/19/images/2007121960590301.jpg

Photo: N. Sridharan

Relief round the corner: A view of the Thiruvanmiyur – Lattice Bridge Road junction, where a flyover-cum-subway will be constructed by the Chennai Corporation. —

Chennai: The Chennai Corporation is ready with the alignment designs for new flyovers at the Ganesapuram and Mint junctions in north Chennai and Thiruvanmiyur junction in south Chennai.

A unique design has been chosen for the bridge at the junction of Thiruvanmiyur-Lattice Bridge-West Avenue Roads. It consists of a subway-cum-flyover.

A four-lane flyover has been planned on Lattice Bridge Road, while a four-lane subway has been planned under the flyover on the West Avenue Road that links the East Coast Road with the IT corridor.



Any renderings of these flyovers, especially the Lattice bridge road one?
And any news about the ongoing ones - Kathipara and its peers, the mini flyovers across the city like the one in Usman road? How is usman-road and the Kodambakkam high roads handling the flyover construction blocks-ups?

Marina Grand - Navalur-------------- by Allied Investment & Housing

http://i10.tinypic.com/6tcqmq9.jpg

^^Its a mall-cum-hotel, isnt it? Looks quite grand.

^^ yes, Mall/Multiplex/Hotel Complex approx 7lakh sqft.

Airlines from Hong Kong allowed to fly to Chennai - Cathay Pacific or Air India may launch flights vetry soon.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/12/20/stories/2007122050520700.htm

^^

Happy news :banana:

Now lots of people from south india prefer Singapore and Guangzhou as their route to south China. Singapore-Guangzhou route is so busy and it is very difficult to get room....

Hongkong-Chennai direct flight service will be much sucessfull, it will reduce the crowd in Singapore-Chennai route!!

If this flight starts, Hongkong may be the change over point for people towards Seoul, Tokyo and Manila!!

Further there are lots of Indians in Hongkong.. this service will be much useful for them!

Also, currently those taking the Singapore route from the US west coast have a three-leg journey. For instance, on Singapore Airlines, there is a stopover at Seoul or HK. Even though there is no change of aircraft, it adds to the hours and discomfort. If there are direct flights from HK to Chennai, it will only two legs from the US west-coast - there are already direct flights to HK from major airports. And then one can change to the flight to Chennai.

Also, since HK stamps a 15 day visa on arrival, it will be convenient for people to even stop over in the city if they want to. All in all, this will be a big plus for both travelers and it will also benefit HK through tourist/shopper expenditures in the city.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/19/stories/2007121961701000.htm

CII has thought of a very good futuristic plan. In urban planning, one has to plan for min 20 years sustainability to make it work properly.

We have been advocating to make Chennai Pondy corridor as megalapolis so that ECR region can be developed into a world class locality with all zones clearly planned. This will lead to a healthy well organised growth.

Marg Constructions has already planned lots of development near Marakkanam and so they may be more interested to push through this.

Chennai Metropolis should be expanded upto Kanchipuram and Arakkonam, AP border (Pulicat), Chengalpet and Mahabs. Chennai Pody Corridor can be developed only if the present DCR is amended to suit the new requirements / demands and the environmental isssues.

More incentives should be given for the developers who are investing in these corridors so as to decongest the city.

^^

Happy news :banana:

Now lots of people from south india prefer Singapore and Guangzhou as their route to south China. Singapore-Guangzhou route is so busy and it is very difficult to get room....

Hongkong-Chennai direct flight service will be much sucessfull, it will reduce the crowd in Singapore-Chennai route!!

If this flight starts, Hongkong may be the change over point for people towards Seoul, Tokyo and Manila!!

Further there are lots of Indians in Hongkong.. this service will be much useful for them!

Best part is that its the best way to fly to west coast in US from India. Good that its brought now, when I am moving there, hehe...

http://www.telecom.paper.nl/site/news_ta.asp?type=abstract&id=197295

Switzerland-based telecom network systems manufacturer Schmid Telecom is expanding the existing production locations with a manufacturing plant in Chennai.

CII has thought of a very good futuristic plan. In urban planning, one has to plan for min 20 years sustainability to make it work properly.

We have been advocating to make Chennai Pondy corridor as megalapolis so that ECR region can be developed into a world class locality with all zones clearly planned. This will lead to a healthy well organised growth.

Marg Constructions has already planned lots of development near Marakkanam and so they may be more interested to push through this.

Chennai Metropolis should be expanded upto Kanchipuram and Arakkonam, AP border (Pulicat), Chengalpet and Mahabs. Chennai Pody Corridor can be developed only if the present DCR is amended to suit the new requirements / demands and the environmental isssues.

More incentives should be given for the developers who are investing in these corridors so as to decongest the city.

This area is about 5000 sq km. What's the density that they plan to achieve in this region? At 10,000 per sq km (third of what Chennai city would be by 2010), that would hold a population of about 50 million. That's almost population of TN. This would be a huge waste of money if we have to plan and provide infrastructure for such a huge area. I don't understand the real motive of CII to get involved in such urban planning.

The area is not very different in size from National Capital Region (NCR) - if anything, the NCR is much greater than 5000 sq. km in size. And today, the NCR as a single urban conglomeration is taking effect. There is an NCR planning board that has initiated several projects.

Designating the MAP area does not mean that every part of it will be equally densely populated. To the contrary, it means managing the density of the urban conglomeration at a manageable level through the existence of multiple urban nodes. There will be rural and semi-rural areas in this region, as they exist in NCR too. And it would mean common planning to ensure that the potential of the entire area is realized in a coordinated way and that transportation links are optimized at a regional than merely an individual city level.

CII has suggested several plans across the country, many of which have been accepted and realized. A major thrust area for CII in the past decade or so has been urban infrastructure. They are an advocacy group and hence their advocacy on urban planning issues are not unusual or inconsistent with their mandate.

^^

Happy news :banana:

Now lots of people from south india prefer Singapore and Guangzhou as their route to south China. Singapore-Guangzhou route is so busy and it is very difficult to get room....

Hongkong-Chennai direct flight service will be much sucessfull, it will reduce the crowd in Singapore-Chennai route!!

If this flight starts, Hongkong may be the change over point for people towards Seoul, Tokyo and Manila!!

Further there are lots of Indians in Hongkong.. this service will be much useful for them!

Also want to add Taiwan to the list. One more reason for Electronic & Semiconductor manufactures based in taiwan to invest in Chennai & TN.

Three-fold increase in MRTS revenue ..

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/20/stories/2007122050420100.htm

Also want to add Taiwan to the list. One more reason for Electronic & Semiconductor manufactures based in taiwan to invest in Chennai & TN.

Yeap. This would be a very good alternative route to the Far East and
the West Coast of US and for tourists planning to visit the Disney Land.

New Delhi, Dec 20: Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today submitted a fresh proposal of Rs 1,800 crore to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for upgradation of the existing airport in Chennai.

The proposal was submitted after the state government failed to acquire land for a new greenfield airport in the state.

After the failure, the Aviation Minister decided to upgrade the facilities at the existing airport in Chennai for which the state government has promised acquiring of additional land for carrying out renovation activities.

Patel would be flying down to Chennai next month for giving a detailed presentation.

The Civil Aviation Minister also informed Karunanidhi that his ministry would be carrying out upgradation work in Trichy, Madurai, Coimbatore and Thoothukudi. http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7BD16373F2-9422-46B3-8E59-B88E8A8FB578%7D&CATEGORYNAME=TAMNA.

.

No greenfield airport?

.

.

How sad??? :bash: the TN Government

The area is not very different in size from National Capital Region (NCR) - if anything, the NCR is much greater than 5000 sq. km in size. And today, the NCR as a single urban conglomeration is taking effect. There is an NCR planning board that has initiated several projects.

Designating the MAP area does not mean that every part of it will be equally densely populated. To the contrary, it means managing the density of the urban conglomeration at a manageable level through the existence of multiple urban nodes. There will be rural and semi-rural areas in this region, as they exist in NCR too. And it would mean common planning to ensure that the potential of the entire area is realized in a coordinated way and that transportation links are optimized at a regional than merely an individual city level.

CII has suggested several plans across the country, many of which have been accepted and realized. A major thrust area for CII in the past decade or so has been urban infrastructure. They are an advocacy group and hence their advocacy on urban planning issues are not unusual or inconsistent with their mandate.

National Capital Territory is about 1500 sq km. Faridabad, Noida & Gurgaon are satellite towns to this territory. These towns are planned independently I thought and all you need is a good road/rail link to connect to Delhi.

This area is about 5000 sq km. What's the density that they plan to achieve in this region? At 10,000 per sq km (third of what Chennai city would be by 2010), that would hold a population of about 50 million. That's almost population of TN. This would be a huge waste of money if we have to plan and provide infrastructure for such a huge area. I don't understand the real motive of CII to get involved in such urban planning.

The urban design concentrates on the over all area and Hub, spokes and radials have to be planned first. Initially the development will happen only (both sides
of ) along the spokes and radials and not in between areas. Over a long period, those developments will take place.

Hub will be say CBD with Gemini Flyover as central point. Chennai will expand as semi circle as the other side is sea. The existing roads can be easily integrated into the future system.

Density will never be a problem. The Govt need not concentrate on realty development but should plan for and provide common infrastructure facilities like Road, Rail, water and drainage etc. Incentives should be given to those who develop these corridors.

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=308300&leftnm=8&subLeft=0&chkFlg=

Ciena works with contract manufacturers in Thailand and China for its equipment, and Gulati said 3 to 4 of these are looking at setting up their assembly base in India, either in Hyderabad or Chennai.

“Hyderabad and Chennai are predominantly becoming electronic hubs of India and we expect at least four contract manufacturers to set up shop here, which would give us cost-effectiveness besides shortening the time to market,” Gulati said, while ruling out any possibility of setting up their own manufacturing facility in the country.

Satish:

I was referring to NCR, not NCT. Here is the website of the National Capital Region Planning Board. The home page itself has a map of the NCR.

http://ncrpb.nic.in/

The point about a regional plan is not that every inch of it is an urban area. It is not. In fact, the majority of land in NCR is agricultural. The point is that the urban areas within the region are planned in an integrated manner taking into account inter-dependence (and the potential for it) among these cities and towns. That is what is proposed for the MAP area too.

Satish:

I was referring to NCR, not NCT. Here is the website of the National Capital Region Planning Board. The home page itself has a map of the NCR.

http://ncrpb.nic.in/

The point about a regional plan is not that every inch of it is an urban area. It is not. In fact, the majority of land in NCR is agricultural. The point is that the urban areas within the region are planned in an integrated manner taking into account inter-dependence (and the potential for it) among these cities and towns. That is what is proposed for the MAP area too.

Thanks Sridhar for the NCR details. Very tidy and comprehensive one.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071222/jsp/business/story_8697538.jsp

L&T is planning to set up the country’s biggest shipbuilding facility, which will require around 1200 acres. The shipyard will build large crude carriers having capacities of around 4000 dead weight tonnage.

“Our proposal in Tamil Nadu went to the chief minister’s committee, but it has got caught up in the land debate there even as the proposed site is not agricultural land. If there is no development in Tamil Nadu by January, we will look at other sites, such as near the Mundra port. We have set January as our deadline,” said Naik. :bash:

--------------------------------------------------
Not sure what is the issue with land here ? This is a prestigious project that came our way. :ohno: Any one has info ?

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071222/jsp/business/story_8697538.jsp

L&T is planning to set up the country’s biggest shipbuilding facility, which will require around 1200 acres. The shipyard will build large crude carriers having capacities of around 4000 dead weight tonnage.

“Our proposal in Tamil Nadu went to the chief minister’s committee, but it has got caught up in the land debate there even as the proposed site is not agricultural land. If there is no development in Tamil Nadu by January, we will look at other sites, such as near the Mundra port. We have set January as our deadline,” said Naik. :bash:

--------------------------------------------------
Not sure what is the issue with land here ? This is a prestigious project that came our way. :ohno: Any one has info ?

Actually such core engg. projects should be encouraged at chennai and TN as a whole. Mere IT/ITES is not enough as these are only supporting services which may not be required that much after some time

Not sure what is the issue with land here ? This is a prestigious project that came our way. :ohno: Any one has info ?

MKs busy medicating his ailing knee.

visited the adayar eco creek park visitor centre, and was truly impressed. if what they are planning comes through within the expected 2 years, its going to be fantastic park, one of its kind in india.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2196/2122378658_dfbd5d8ea4.jpg?v=0

and check out their masterplan (click)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Adayar_Eco_Creek_Park_masterplan.jpg/800px-Adayar_Eco_Creek_Park_masterplan.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Adayar_Eco_Creek_Park_masterplan.jpg)

Tiruvallur-Arakkonam third line will be ready by April: Velu

Staff Reporter

The Minister says nearly 70 per cent of the work has been completed


R.Velu

TIRUVALLUR: Minister of State for Railways R.Velu has expressed hope that the third broad-gauge line between Tiruvallur and Arakkonam would be ready by April next.

Talking to reporters at the Arakkonam Junction on Saturday, he said the work on laying the Rs.85-crore third line was given to the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, and nearly 70 per cent of this project was completed.

The long-pending demand of the people of the area for an additional rail under-bridge at Arakkonam was also included in this project, Mr. Velu said.

A 2.5-metre-high and three-metre-wide rail-under-bridge would be constructed near the Arakkonam junction, abutting the existing under-bridge, at a cost of Rs.2 crore.

The additional bridge would be created with 13 concrete boxes (2.5 metres x 3 metres each), through the digging and pushing technology, he said.

Rail under-bridges


Rail under-bridges would be created at five locations in the Kancheepuram-Arakkonam section, besides the Pudupakkam and Govindavadi-Agaram level crossings, which had been already made manned level crossings, he said. More than 25 persons were killed in train accidents that took place at these level crossings in the recent past.

However, Chennai Divisional Railway Manager Man Singh said the project for building rail under-bridges in this section was yet to be finalised, as the district administration wanted the height of the bridges to be around 12 feet instead of 10 feet proposed by Southern Railway.

MRTS occupancy


Mr. Velu said there would not be any increase in the number of Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) services in near future.

Mr. Singh said the end-to-end seating occupancy had not increased beyond 10 per cent, despite a three-fold increase in the commuter traffic after the services were extended up to Velachery.

The delay in putting in place an inter-modal transport system and laying of approach roads to the Velachery station might prevent the MRTS becoming popular among intra-city commuters. The Southern Railway, Mr. Singh said, was maintaining the frequency of services during the peak hours at 10 minutes.

Mr. Velu expressed confidence that the MRTS would become the most preferred mode of transport among intra-city commuters once Velachery and St.Thomas Mount were linked in the next phase.

The Minister inspected the work on the laying of the third line between Arakkonam and Tiruvallur, while going to Chennai in an inspection train.

Mr. Singh, RVNL managing director D.C. Mithra and other officials accompanied him.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/23/stories/2007122359480300.htm

After this subruban service will increase to Arrakonam from Chennai central station!!

Planemad,

Fantastic photo!

If they plan a small toy train, this will park will get more attension among Chennaities in weekends!!

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1071222/jsp/business/story_8697538.jsp

L&T is planning to set up the country’s biggest shipbuilding facility, which will require around 1200 acres. The shipyard will build large crude carriers having capacities of around 4000 dead weight tonnage.

“Our proposal in Tamil Nadu went to the chief minister’s committee, but it has got caught up in the land debate there even as the proposed site is not agricultural land. If there is no development in Tamil Nadu by January, we will look at other sites, such as near the Mundra port. We have set January as our deadline,” said Naik. :bash:

--------------------------------------------------
Not sure what is the issue with land here ? This is a prestigious project that came our way. :ohno: Any one has info ?

The same is the case with Mahindra Renault Nissan car project.According to Dr.Pawan Goenka,President,Automotive Sector,Mahindra &Mahindra the construction of the factory is six to eight months behind schedule as of now as it is yet to get the required land in Chennai.I also heard from a senior official from L & T that this ship building project will all go to Gujarat in all probability if the TN Govt delays in the matter.L&T has in fact extended the time from Dec 07 to Jan 08 in view of Gujarat election and if Narendra Modi comes back to power the project will surely go to Gujarat.Meanwhile A.P. Govt sounded L&T positively on the issue of land allocation some distance away from Kakinada port

The same is the case with Mahindra Renault Nissan car project.According to Dr.Pawan Goenka,President,Automotive Sector,Mahindra &Mahindra the construction of the factory is six to eight months behind schedule as of now as it is yet to get the required land in Chennai.I also heard from a senior official from L & T that this ship building project will all go to Gujarat in all probability if the TN Govt delays in the matter.L&T has in fact extended the time from Dec 07 to Jan 08 in view of Gujarat election and if Narendra Modi comes back to power the project will surely go to Gujarat.

Narendra Modi has already come to power.

Ramadas & Co are spoiling the chances for the projects in TN

Narendra Modi has already come to power.

Ramadas & Co are spoiling the chances for the projects in TN

Krishnapatnam port and power projects are coming up in Nellore dist.A.P govt is focusing on these projects for speedy developments of SEZs around these areas.Industries are fed up with the frequent strikes and low productivity at chennai port,which is happening quite frequently in the recent months.If this continues then it will be curtains for chennai port in the near future.
After the exit of the previous industry secretary nothing seems to move in the industrial front in TN after the first year enthusiasm of the present State Govt.While Dr.Ramadoss is deriving sadistic pleasure by creating obstacles for each and every investments like the satellite township project near chennai,solar cells project in kanchipuram dist,Tata's Titanium project,cuddalore power project,L&T ship building project at katupalli near Chennai,Mahindra,Renault,Nissan small car project at oragadam,as seen from the body language of Dr.Ramadoss on the TV his son Dr.Anbumani is creating nuisance in his ministry in New Delhi.

The same is the case with Mahindra Renault Nissan car project.According to Dr.Pawan Goenka,President,Automotive Sector,Mahindra &Mahindra the construction of the factory is six to eight months behind schedule as of now as it is yet to get the required land in Chennai.I also heard from a senior official from L & T that this ship building project will all go to Gujarat in all probability if the TN Govt delays in the matter.L&T has in fact extended the time from Dec 07 to Jan 08 in view of Gujarat election and if Narendra Modi comes back to power the project will surely go to Gujarat.Meanwhile A.P. Govt sounded L&T positively on the issue of land allocation some distance away from Kakinada port

There can be 2 perspectives possible on this matter.One is obviously Mr.Ranga's stating the worst .The other could be that possibly the net gain L&T can be making by setting it up in TN outweighs all the other losses they might be making because of delayed land acquisition and that is intuitively self-evident because Mr.Naik is just talking about moving the project out but not actually doing so .In this case it is not Sops that matter .The HR and engineering expertise are the key deal clinchers I guess

Narendra Modi has already come to power.

Ramadas & Co are spoiling the chances for the projects in TN


Not only this Co..... Why the DMK has not gone for Tio2 project at Tuticorin dt??

Everywhere Politics is involved in TN projects.

----------------------------------------------------

But except Villupuram-Dindugul doubling project many TN railway projects are in good shape!

There can be 2 perspectives possible on this matter.One is obviously Mr.Ranga's stating the worst .The other could be that possibly the net gain L&T can be making by setting it up in TN outweighs all the other losses they might be making because of delayed land acquisition and that is intuitively self-evident because Mr.Naik is just talking about moving the project out but not actually doing so .In this case it is not Sops that matter .The HR and engineering expertise are the key deal clinchers I guess

Mahindra-Renault-Nissan land is already acquired and given to the company when Mr Gosn visited Chennai few weeks back. There was a delay of 3-4 months. The delay was not due to PMK. It was due to issues with title and double registration of portions of that land.

Also not sure if PMK is behind the L and T issue. I heard the land belonged to Salt Corporation and it is taking time to get the clearance. TN govt wants a bigger piece of land to set up Ennore SEZ and wants this project to be part of it. Also the requirement for 3000 acres of land from Chennai Petroleum / IOC for the big refinery project increases the land requirement in and around Ennore.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bangalore_2nd_in_health_facilities/articleshow/2643954.cms

Chennai tops the list among 593 districts.

Dont think this is in anyway related but here's Sun TV's Private Jet.

Canadair CL-600-2B16 Challenger 604 VT-KAV (http://www.dgca.nic.in/caris/know_regn.asp?regn=KAV)
http://cdn-www.airliners.net/photos/small/0/5/9/1308950.jpg (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1308950/L/) © Iain MACKENZIE (http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?photographersearch=Iain%20MACKENZIE&distinct_entry=true)
Glasgow - International (Abbotsinch) (GLA / EGPF) (http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?placesearch=Glasgow%20-%20International%20%28Abbotsinch%29%20%28GLA%20%2F%20EGPF%29&distinct_entry=true), UK - Scotland (http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?countrysearch=UK%20-%20Scotland&distinct_entry=true).
December 18, 2007

There can be 2 perspectives possible on this matter.One is obviously Mr.Ranga's stating the worst .The other could be that possibly the net gain L&T can be making by setting it up in TN outweighs all the other losses they might be making because of delayed land acquisition and that is intuitively self-evident because Mr.Naik is just talking about moving the project out but not actually doing so .In this case it is not Sops that matter .The HR and engineering expertise are the key deal clinchers I guess

A Govt cannot remain complacent.The HR and engineering expertise is definitely better in Gujarat particularly in the shipping field.Why wait when other States act expeditiously in allotting land which is a primary requirement for starting an Industry.

Mahindra may not be a part after the decision of Nissan to go ahead with Bajaj.

Krishnapatnam port and power projects are coming up in Nellore dist.A.P govt is focusing on these projects for speedy developments of SEZs around these areas.Industries are fed up with the frequent strikes and low productivity at chennai port,which is happening quite frequently in the recent months.If this continues then it will be curtains for chennai port in the near future.

After the exit of the previous industry secretary nothing seems to move in the industrial front in TN after the first year enthusiasm of the present State Govt.While Dr.Ramadoss is deriving sadistic pleasure by creating obstacles for each and every investments like the satellite township project near chennai,solar cells project in kanchipuram dist,Tata's Titanium project,cuddalore power project,L&T ship building project at katupalli near Chennai,Mahindra,Renault,Nissan small car project at oragadam,as seen from the body language of Dr.Ramadoss on the TV his son Dr.Anbumani is creating nuisance in his ministry in New Delhi.

Last month there were reports in investigation journals like Nakeeran/Junior Vikatan/Kumudam Reporter that ex-industry secretary Shaktikanta Das and few other officials were involved in land scams and also responsible for causing confusion in the land allotment for the companies. He is alleged to have done unfair favour to ETA Star Properties for their 1,200 acres township project at Sriperumbudur.

http://www.livemint.com/2007/12/23234917/Ford-to-make-India-engine-hub.html

The new facility will make 300,000 petrol and diesel engines for supply to Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. :cheers:

Auto manufacturer Ford Motor Co. is betting big on its Indian operations and plans to make it a major hub for supplying petrol and diesel engines to its operations in the entire Asia-Pacific region, as well as markets in Europe, according to a top official at the Indian operations.
Ford India Pvt. Ltd, the wholly-owned Indian subsidiary of the US-based car maker, has commenced work on a new engine-making facility in India, which will make 300,000 petrol and diesel engines here, said this official who did not wish to be named since he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Building markets: A file photo of the Ford Ikon. Ford, which makes the Ikon, Fusion, Fiesta, and Endeavour models in India currently buys its petrol engines from the Rs570-crore Avtec Ltd. While the company has been maintaining that it is still evaluating the feasibility of making a diesel engine plant in India, the Ford official said work has indeed begun on the project and that it will come up at its existing facilities in Chennai. “Work has already started on localization of components for the engines,” he said. Some vendors also said they have been contacted by the firm for the new engines project.
The official did not say how Ford, which is struggling with losses, plans to fund this facility. Ford has put its iconic British brands Land Rover and Jaguar on the block, with Tata Motors Ltd and others in the race to buy them.
“There is a huge demand building up in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and other markets across the world, and Ford India will cater to the requirements,” said this official. He declined to provide the exact timeline for the project, saying the finer details are being worked out just now. “Ford Motor’s top management will make an announcement shortly about this new project,” the official added.
Ford India’s official spokesperson said, “We continue to study various opportunities in the market and have nothing to talk about at this point of time.” The company is on a 10-day break for Christmas and its annual plant maintenance.
The car maker, which makes the Ikon, Fusion and Fiesta passenger cars in India, and also the Endeavour—a sports utility vehicle—currently buys its petrol engines from the Rs570-crore Avtec Ltd, a GP-CK Birla group company, in which private equity firm Actis also holds stake. It is unclear how Ford, which is struggling with loses, plans to fund this facility
Asked if this would mean that the company will pull out of the arrangement with Avtec, the Ford official said that the company would continue to buy from Avtec, but also make petrol engines on its own. “The installed capacity at the new plant would be in the region of 3,00,000 units, but the ratio of diesel to petrol is part of our internal strategy and we will decide depending on how demand evolves from global markets,” he said.
He declined to give details on which of the diesel engines (it currently imports these from Europe), it will manufacture at the new plant.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

I guess the investment should be atleast 1000 crores!!

A Govt cannot remain complacent.The HR and engineering expertise is definitely better in Gujarat particularly in the shipping field.Why wait when other States act expeditiously in allotting land which is a primary requirement for starting an Industry.

A.M. Naik has himself stated that the availability of engineering talent is better in the south and that is prime reason for waiting (for land in TN). I guess he knows better than you.

Mahindra may not be a part after the decision of Nissan to go ahead with Bajaj.

Renault group has clearly stated that it is choosing different partner for different products (for manufacturing and distribution) in India. Hence there should be no confusion about it (atleast ideally!).

A.M. Naik has himself stated that the availability of engineering talent is better in the south and that is prime reason for waiting (for land in TN). I guess he knows better than you.


L&T ll come in TN only.Pls wait and see.

A.M. Naik has himself stated that the availability of engineering talent is better in the south and that is prime reason for waiting (for land in TN). I guess he knows better than you.

Lets see how things unfold in a few weeks from now.However, I am sure that L&T will not wait for long only on the so called claim of engineering talent in the south.A.P is also part of S.I and they are also vying for this project.

Lets see how things unfold in a few weeks from now.However, I am sure that L&T will not wait for long only on the so called claim of engineering talent in the south.A.P is also part of S.I and they are also vying for this project.

Although you are correct, AP has not bagged too many projects of this scale (in manufacturing) in the recent past.

Mahindra-Renault-Nissan was a loose partnership without a concrete plan of action. Decision making hence become a problem. None of them knew what type of products will be lined up and who will start signing the Cheque and who will wield the power. All the delay could be attributed to their uncoordinated efforts in conceiving a mega project, though there was a minor land acquisition problem.

Now I understand that the marriage of convenience has attained some order. Mahindra was given land separately to pursue their interest.[a portion of the allocated land]. Nissan will look after the Chennai project execution. Renault will look after their Morrocan project. Marketing will be done separately. Mahindra came to the table to dive into Renault-Nissan knowhow and smart cats will not allow that. Hope this arrangement works out!

Renault-Nissan - survey work has started..
Mahindra- Site in possession.

Companies with clear plans and deep pockets like Nokia,Dell,Samsung, Caparo and so many SMEs executed their projects in less than 8 months. Project facilitation from TN Govt side was excellent. Companies like Apollo Tyres,Tessolve haven't yet put up a board(?) at their site after nearly two years of signing MOU. Strike rate can not be 100 %.

hi,

has TN govt completely dropped the plan of setting up the satellite township project near CHENNAI and the new airport at oragadam? has the state govt issued any official orders regarding that?

can anyone update please?:ohno:

As the year-end is approaching, I have made some major updates to the following site. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Tech_Parks_in_Chennai

The total sqft of available IT facilities already occupied or under construction is roughly around 40 million sqft ( that can house roughly 4 lakh people) :banana:. I am very sure that are few other IT parks which I may have not listed there/not aware of. I request all of you guys to take a look at it and provide your valuble additions and updates( for whatever info that is missing there).Thanks
-K.Vijayasundaram

Lets see how things unfold in a few weeks from now.However, I am sure that L&T will not wait for long only on the so called claim of engineering talent in the south.A.P is also part of S.I and they are also vying for this project.

If A.P projects krishnapatnam then it stands a better chance.Also Shipping is a low margin , highly volatile industry and hence it is very much necessary to build higher economies of scale which is possible in places like pune, chennai and to an extent gujarat because of vibrant engineering/chemical eco system.


A trivia quiz: HK has the biggest shipping industry in the world.Any guess why?

^^ shipping or ship building ? cause I thought South Korea is the leader in ship building...

hi,

has TN govt completely dropped the plan of setting up the satellite township project near CHENNAI and the new airport at oragadam? has the state govt issued any official orders regarding that?

can anyone update please?:ohno:
I thought the new Intl airport is NOT coming up at Oragadam but to the right side of Mds-BLR highway as you go towards BLR and it spreads across 5 villages somwhere behind or near Sunkuvar Chatram. I think this is finalised although I am not sure if there are any further formailities to be completed from the TN govt side before it goes to the Centre for further consideration.

hi,

has TN govt completely dropped the plan of setting up the satellite township project near CHENNAI and the new airport at oragadam? has the state govt issued any official orders regarding that?

can anyone update please?:ohno:
This should be of interest to you. Ref: The expansion of existing airport and the new Greenfield airport:
http://www.sriperumpudur.com/AboutChennaiAirport.aspx

^^ damn, im finding more and more of my pics pinched off wikipedia without my knowledge, time to write another stiff email :D

Tessolve (TAPP Semiconductors) CEO Mr Raja Manickam's latest press update on Chennai facility

- First phase plant will be commissioned in August 2008 with $50 Millions investment.

- Second phase with Investment of $120 Millions likely to be completed by 2009.

- Third phase with Investment of $150 Millions will be scheduled for 2011

Pl mark the committment in your diary. The original schedule could be found in the following link!

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/5329/945/

Hi guys!!! My name is Ezhilan and I have been following this thread for nearly 2 yrs now, but this is my first ever post. I have visited many threads in many forums, but I must complement you guys that this is the most interesting and intellectual discussion I have come across. Currently am doing MBA at Ireland and been away from Chennai for a year now and the first time that am away from my hometown. I am a die hard Chennai fanatic and at the same time a big critic of the situations that always happen only in Chennai. Its very nice to see so many developments happening there and you guys have not made me miss any of those. Keep continuing the great work guys.

I guess its been a long time since anybody gave an update about the OMR a.k.a IT Expressway a.k.a Rajiv Gandhi Expressway. Any latest pics of that?

^^for pics of IT corridor visit the thread by that name. btw welcome to SSC!

This should be of interest to you. Ref: The expansion of existing airport and the new Greenfield airport:
http://www.sriperumpudur.com/AboutChennaiAirport.aspx

thanks a lot...:):)

Chennai's skyline is set to become broader as realty developers pull out more avant-garde residential projects from the Pandora box.

Chennai-based real estate developer Olympia plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore in realty projects at Chennai and Kolkata over the next 3 years. Once again, the Old Mahabalipuram Road is at the centre stage in the metro.

Realty prices, which hovered around Rs 4,000 per sqft here just a couple of months ago, after slowing down apartment bookings, have settled at Rs 3,500 per sqft now, stepping up market demand.

Olympia is planning a multi-product project on the OMR to cash in on the IT boom. To be located on 30 acres, 60 per cent of the land will be dedicated to a residential complex, 30 per cent for use of IT and non-IT office space and the balance for retail.

"We will be the first to cater to the non-IT demand on the OMR," Director, Khivraj Tech Park Ltd (the promoter), Chandrakant Kankaria told this website's newspaper. He said Rs 300 crore would be invested in the project with a mix of internal accruals and debt, including loans from banks.

About 1,500 apartments have been planned with the work expected to start in August next year and be completed in 3 years. A manufacturing facility and warehousing infrastructure for hardware and electronic companies, on 60 acres of land, has also been proposed at Sriperumbudur near Chennai.

The project is expected to get the green signal by mid- 2008. Also on the anvil is 'Olympia Opaline', a large residential complex on the OMR. To come up on 18 acres of land, the project's USP would be an air-conditioned club spread over 100,000 sq ft.

Expected to be the largest in South India, it would sport an indoor cricket arena, an outdoor equestrian training school, besides other five star amenities.

"A thousand apartments have been proposed in the first phase with an investment of Rs 275 crore, funded through internal accruals, debt and sale of residential apartments.

We also have additional land which can be later used to increase the area to 40 acres," said Kankaria. The first phase of the project is likely to be completed by March 2010.http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEB20071225143632&Page=B&Headline=Olympia+to+invest+Rs+1000+cr+in+realty&Title=Business&Topic=0

As mentioned that there will be 5 merchant power plant in TN ,2 in Marakkanam,each in cud,tuticorin,naga.
Then what about the ultra power plant which was once said in Marakkanam.then from where will they bring coal in case of Marakkanam plant.If they propose port off ECR ,it will spoil the beauty of this entertainment corridor.

If they propose port off ECR ,it will spoil the beauty of this entertainment corridor.

You seem to share similar views with Dr.Ramadoss.

Marakanam attracts Lakshman as ....He may possess land in that vicinity and may be interested in statusquo.

Many want electric power at their home but would like the power plant located at Nicobar islands.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/26/stories/2007122657470600.htm


CHENNAI: Expansion of the existing airport at Meenambakkam here will lead to environmental problems such as flooding and noise pollution, said a section of residents from Manappakkam, Kolappakkan, Gerugambakkam and Tharappakkam.

Talking to reporters on Monday, the residents who had formed an association, United People’s Forum for Survival, said the proposed runway would obstruct the draining of water from the residential areas into the Adyar River, resulting in the flooding of the neighbourhood. The expanded airport would be very close to the densely populated localities of Mugalivakkam, Moulivakkam and Porur.

They appealed to the Chief Minister to reconsider the expansion proposal and said ‘Green Field’ airport would be an ideal alternative.

:ohno:

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/26/stories/2007122657470600.htm


CHENNAI: Expansion of the existing airport at Meenambakkam here will lead to environmental problems such as flooding and noise pollution, said a section of residents from Manappakkam, Kolappakkan, Gerugambakkam and Tharappakkam.

Talking to reporters on Monday, the residents who had formed an association, United People’s Forum for Survival, said the proposed runway would obstruct the draining of water from the residential areas into the Adyar River, resulting in the flooding of the neighbourhood. The expanded airport would be very close to the densely populated localities of Mugalivakkam, Moulivakkam and Porur.

They appealed to the Chief Minister to reconsider the expansion proposal and said ‘Green Field’ airport would be an ideal alternative.

:ohno:

Instead of making wise adminstrative decsion-making, the NUTCASES that make-up the current govt. keep playing politics for the vote-banks ... There is no way that a government can satisfy all the strata-s of the populace all time. Time to have a conviciton, call a shot and move on. Politicians sans shrewdness is same as skeletons sans backbones. This will certainly hurt Chennai in the short & long run... when a decade would have passed and Chennai suddenly has the worst airport inthe south.

Real estate firms bypass Land Reforms Act

Many real estate companies bypass the Land Reforms Act and hold large tracts of agricultural land in order to develop them as real estate projects at a later date. The provision of Land Reforms Act states that a family with five members can maximum own 15 standard acres of agricultural land. Additional five acres is allowed for every member of the family, but all put together the maximum a family can own cannot exceed 30 standard acres. This ceiling is applicable for companies as well. If the provisions of the Act are strictly applied then many real estate companies have to give up the land they have hoarded in the name of land banks or land reserves. The State Government in 1999 repealed the Tamil Nadu Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act and with it the ceiling on how much an individual can hold urban land has been abolished. However, the provisions of Tamil Nadu Land Reforms Act are still in force and it imposes ceiling on agricultural land holding.

Many real estate companies have declared that they have large land banks ranging from 500 to 10,000 acres.

The company or the individual has three kinds of arrangements for holding lands. Some are owned by the subsidiary companies and in some cases the company owns only development rights to the land. In addition to these two arrangements, the companies also entirely own the lands.

The land entirely owned by them is substantially large to attract the provisions of Land Reforms Act. For example, three large public limited real estate companies in their offer documents have declared that they own 67 acres, 500 cares and 46.63 acres respectively.

There are also many more real estate companies, big and small, which hold large tracts of agricultural land for future development. Officials of the Registration department told The Hindu that a few months ago, in one of the Chennai suburbs, a land-parcel measuring 100 acres was registered in the name of a single owner. But within a few days the deal was cancelled fearing land reforms action.http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/27/stories/2007122757020600.htm

The proposed 62 km Outer Ring Road (ORR), which is to connect Minjur in the north with Vandalur in the west, will be further extended to connect East Coast Road, according to K. Allaudin, Tamil Nadu Highways Secretary.

He said the proposed extension of the ORR to ECR would not be a widening of the Vandalur — Kelambakam road. Instead, it would be laid as a separate road located further south of Kelambakam, he added.

The ORR would be 400 feet wide, but only 165 feet will be used as a road. The remaining land will be explored for commercial purposes. He said detail project report exploring the private-public partnership model for executing this project was being prepared with World Bank aid.

As part of other road projects proposed by the Government of Tamil Nadu to improve connectivity around Chennai, East Coast Road will be widened from its present two lanes to four lanes.
Numerous accidents in the area necessitated this, he said

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/27/stories/2007122758320200.htm

I dont posses any land on ECR and also iam not against aquring agriculture land like Ramdass.What i feel is that after mahabs only few kilometers before marakkanam we can have Sea close to the ECR(because after mahabs kalpakkam starts.).So this last 30km till pondy is the left out beach lands nearer to chennai and this will serve as an entertainment region in the future to chennai(close to IT Corridor),pondy, etc.If a port is proposed means atleast 5km will be affected.Also till mahabs all the lands are owned by actual users from city and also the price is very high so there is lesser chance for a entertainment facility or high end resorts to flourish.

Instead of making wise adminstrative decsion-making, the NUTCASES that make-up the current govt. keep playing politics for the vote-banks ... There is no way that a government can satisfy all the strata-s of the populace all time. Time to have a conviciton, call a shot and move on. Politicians sans shrewdness is same as skeletons sans backbones. This will certainly hurt Chennai in the short & long run... when a decade would have passed and Chennai suddenly has the worst airport inthe south.

Manapakkam and areas around are well developed by now and i really question the wisdom of disturbing this area rather than rehabilitating few villages and go for one good big greenfield project.

We are already lagging behind blore and hyd and high time we should not lose in terms of airport in-competence. This time when i was at airport i was greeted with 1000 of huj pilgrims stranded because of flight delay. Add to it around 10 other international depatures within a span of 4 (12-4 am) and its too much crowded. No way could the current airport handle growing traffic in the years to come.

Add to it, VIP movements to capital is causing traffic night. God help chennai.

Real estate firms bypass Land Reforms Act

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/27/stories/2007122757020600.htm

What is the logic of a family with five members? What does the law say if the family is of less than five members?Who constitute family members for a company or any other legal entity?It appears,at the outset to be a funny law.:hahaha::hahaha:

500 new MTC buses to roll out in January

Krishna Velupillai

375 will replace the old; 125 are in addition

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The new services will be introduced from four main depots: Tondiarpet and Ayanavaram in the north and Vadapalani and Adyar in the south.


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RISKY RIDE: Plans to add new buses to the roads may help to solve problems such as overcrowding.

CHENNAI: The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) will introduce 500 new buses in the city within the first week of January.

A senior official of the MTC told The Hindu that it would introduce 83 new routes and 42 additional services in the metro, in January. To fulfil this need and to replace old buses that are no longer road-worthy, the MTC will introduce the 500 new buses.

Of the 500 buses, 375 will replace the old buses and 125 will be an addition to the existing fleet. This year, the MTC condemned 970 buses, of which 320 were condemned in December alone.

The new services and buses will be introduced from all four main depots: Tondiarpet and Ayanavaram in the north and Vadapalani and Adyar in the south.

Decisions on the types of bus services (deluxe, express and ordinary) have been made, based on the need of a particular area. The official said 113 of the buses will be semi low-floor (SLF) buses. For the moment there are no plans to add to the air-conditioned (A/C) fleet.

The MTC has bigger plans for the metro later next year. “We are planning to have 3,000 services by around February or March. This may also include the introduction of additional A/C buses, as the response to them has been good so far. We feel that there will be a greater demand for A/C buses in the summer months,” he said. There are currently 2,775 services in the city.

Recruitments proposed


Simultaneously, the MTC is also recruiting staff and everything will be “ready to go by January,” the official said. There are also plans to increase the number of route inspectors to ensure proper functioning of services.

“We hope that the commuters will be happy with the new and better services that we are introducing for their convenience,” he said. As of now there are no plans to revise the fare, he added.

Asked what they felt about the MTC plans, many commuters said that they looked forward to better services and hoped that public transport woes would be less in the New Year. Many, however, said they preferred to reserve judgement until the new buses were up and running.



http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/28/stories/2007122857850300.htm

Desalination plant project report soon

Lakshmi

90 per cent of the Nemmeli project is to be funded under JNNURM

IN FOCUS: The site at Nemmeli, 35 km from the city, identified for the desalination plant.

CHENNAI: The detailed project report for setting up a desalination plant in Nemmeli, located about 35 km south of Chennai, is likely to be submitted to Chennai Metrowater in a couple of days.

A Metrowater official said the project report was being prepared by Union Government enterprise Mecon Limited along with a Swiss firm ADECO for the 100-million-litre-a-day-capacity plant to be constructed using reverse osmosis method.

About 40 acres of land have been identified for the construction of the desalination plant.

The report to be presented would be scrutinised at meetings of review committee and technical expert committee.

After the internal appraisal process, the report would be submitted to the State nodal agency, Tamil Nadu Finance Infrastructure Development Corporation, by mid-January to receive financial assistance from the Central Government.

Once the funding under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is sanctioned, work will commence immediately and be completed within 18 months. About 90 per cent of the project is to be funded under the JNNURM.

The preparation of the project report was entrusted to Mecon Limited about six months ago.

The report will comprise price estimate, details on raw water quality, various units to be constructed and the amount and discharge point of the waste water generated.

Details, including project cost, would be finalised during the next two weeks to facilitate measures seeking funding, the Metrowater official added.


http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/28/stories/2007122857970300.htm

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Real_Estate/News_/Unitech_plans_a_realty_check_in_south_India/articleshow/2656683.cms

CHENNAI: Unitech, one of India’s largest real estate developer, is making an aggressive entry into the booming realty market in south. It is on the verge of announcing two joint development deals, involving over 1,400 acres of prime land in Hyderabad and Chennai.

Unitech is set to shortly unveil its 50:50 joint venture deal with serial entrepreneur Prasad V Potluri’s PVP Enterprises which owns around 1,300 acres in Hyderabad’s Shamshadabad region, the most happening part of the city in terms of property development.

Unitech will also unveil, over the next few days, a 55:45 joint venture deal for developing 8.8 million sq ft of residential property on the 70-acre Binny land near Perambur in north Chennai, owned by SSI, sources privy to the development told ET.

In February this year, PVP Enterprises picked up a controlling stake in SSI. It now owns 62% equity stake in SSI, which include acquisition of 42% equity stake held by the Kalpathi brothers - Aghoram, Ganesh and Suresh, as well as 20% acquired from the public through an open offer in October.

PVP Enterprises pumped in Rs 750-800 crore for the stake. Kalpathis still hold 29% stake in SSI, the rest 9% with QIBs and others. Besides the 70 acre Binny property, SSI also owns prime property, including an IT Park, developed over 100 grounds (one ground = 2,400 sq ft), at Vadapalani in West Chennai, as well as the Dasaprakash Hotel property in Ooty.

Also, SSI and PVP Enterprise are expected to merge. A formal announcement is likely to take place over the next couple of days, even as the merger ratio between the two companies too has been tentatively finalised. “For every three shares of SSI, one share of PVP Enterprise will be allotted. While the process for merger has been set in motion, it is still not clear whether SSI will undergo a name change,” sources privy to the deal said.

Despite repeated attempts, Shyam Chandra, joint managing director, Unitech, Kalpathis of SSI and its new promoter, Prasad V Potluri could be reached for their comments. According to sources, all existing loans of PVP Enterprise are being converted into equity. This will make it a debt-free company, after the merger. The move will result in a huge scaleable opportunity on the infrastructure front for the merged entity that will also be cash rich.


The development on the Binny land alone involves construction of over 5,000 residential flats, besides retail and commercial space. Even at a reasonably price level of Rs 5,000 per sq ft, the sale proceeds of developing 8.8 million sq ft comes to around Rs 4,400 crore.

“The environment clearance has been obtained for the project, while the CMDA clearance for the first phase involving development of one million sq ft has also been received by SSI,” the sources said.
On Thursday, the shares of Unitech closed at Rs 464.40, marginally down by 0.06% on BSE and at Rs 465.25, marginally up by 0,05% on NSE.

Video from Dec 19 about the Chennai metro getting the government's nod :

0DVAWaaCtng


time to start a Chennai Metro Updates thread in the infra section?

10,000 acres identified to set up ‘Land Bank’

Tender floated to choose a consultant


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CHENNAI: The State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu has identified six hotspots along the Chennai-Hosur National Highway for setting up industrial complexes as part of the proposed Industrial Corridor of Excellence.

Further, the SIPCOT has identified more than 10,000 acres of land to set up the ‘Land Bank’ mentioned by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in the New Industrial Policy 2007.

Several international and local promoters are already queuing up before government agencies seeking land to set up their ventures in and around Chennai. The Chief Minister had proposed setting up of the ICE during the last week of October 2007 to boost the State economy.

Talking to The Hindu, SIPCOT Chairman and Managing Director N. Govindan said, “We have moved in swiftly and have identified the land required for setting up of industrial township, industrial complexes, sub stations, logistics and airport. Further, we have floated a tender for choosing a consultant for the project. The consultant will be selected during the third week of January 2008 and will be given two months’ time to submit the feasibility study. In all probability, it will be ready by April 2008.”

As per the proposal, the industrial complexes are likely to come up in Panapakkam (Walaja), Iyepedu (Arakkonam), Ranipet, Vellore, Kethandipatti (Jolarpet) and Sulagiri (Krishnagiri).

The SIPCOT has three industrial complexes at Ranipet. The third unit – Leather SEZ – would be commissioned shortly, while the fourth unit would take some more time.

“In Sulagiri, we have already identified 5,000 acres of land and in Panapakkam and Iyepadu around 2,500 acres and 2,000 acres respectively. In Kethandipatti and Ranipet, we have identified 1,000 acres each. In fact, the State Government had given us five years to set up the Land Bank. But, we might be achieving it in the first year itself. These are all dry lands and we are waiting for administrative sanction,” Mr. Govindan said.

However, the consultant would state how much it would cost, where to house the industrial complexes, townships, sub stations and logistics. The ICE was being developed in two phases.

The first phase runs from Chennai to Ranipet and the second phase from Ranipet to Hosur.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/29/stories/2007122950080100.htm

http://www.hindu.com/pp/2007/12/29/stories/2007122950010100.htm
http://www.hindu.com/pp/2007/12/29/images/2007122950010101.jpg

After a record 50% plus price increase per annum in 2005 and 2006, the Chennai residential real estate market witnessed moderate growth in 2007 with prices increasing 8-12% across various micro markets. However most of this price increase was seen in the first quarter of the year after which the prices and sales volume stagnated. Although the office market saw a record 7 million sft absorption in 2007 indicating new job creation and a strong economy, this did not translate to direct increase in prices and volumes in the residential market as witnessed over the last three years. Many potential buyers adopted a “wait and watch” approach in 2007 preferring to continue staying in rented accommodation than buy. The number of apartments being sold in 4Q 2007 was also lower than 4Q 2006. Also, the home loan market, which was growing at 30 % plus in 2005 and 2006, saw a growth of only 10-15%.

The year 2007 saw Chennai’s residential market returning to more normal levels of activity. Properties with deficiencies in location or overly optimistic asking prices were slow to move. The hardest hit was the Rs. 60 lakh plus apartment market. The past year saw return of negotiability in asking prices after a relatively long absence from the marketplace.

The city’s economy remains strong, and is creating jobs at a fast pace. Interest rates, which have been rising steadily, have begun to stabilise as inflation remains under control. These factors should continue to maintain reasonable demand, and prices from falling drastically.

. Contrary to what was seen in 2005 and 2006, the number of investors and speculators who entered the market in 2007 was lesser. Real estate private equity investors such as J P Morgan, Citigroup, Red Fort Capital and HDFC Realty invested in the Chennai real estate market. The difference in the launch price and sale price at the time of completion has reduced drastically in the last one year. The yields from residential property remained steady at 4.25 % to 5%. Home buyers have become more quality conscious and have started demanding better amenities and features.


Outlook for 2008


With IT and BPO companies facing the brunt of the appreciating rupee and many investors and speculators preferring to invest in other avenues, residential demand is further expected to be under pressure in 2008.

Unlike the last 3 years where the Chennai real estate market saw only winners, 2008 will witness winners and losers. It is also expected that developers will construct smaller units without compromising on the amenities to make it more affordable.

With more than half the time spent in automobiles today representing time spent in severe traffic and soaring of fuel prices over the last few years, access to public transportation and road infrastructure will become key drivers for taking housing decisions in the future. Developers need to understand their consumers better and figure out a way to reach them the way they want to be reached. Developers need to realise that over the last few years the consumers have been exposed to new areas of real estate and become more knowledgeable.

As the market becomes tougher and the home buyer more choosy and price sensitive, developers will need to use many more innovative lead generation and touch point creation methods of marketing to successfully market their residential units.

The year 2008 will also see a number of large Pan India developers such as DLF, Hirco and Unitech announce their large residential townships projects in Chennai thereby increasing the supply, and keeping the prices under control.

s0The market is adjusting after a period of unprecedented expansion. It’s reasonable to expect that price appreciation will flatten or decline in some areas.

http://www.blonnet.com/iw/2007/12/30/stories/2007123050821500.htm


Predicting the commencement of a new phase in the real estate market cycle may be a difficult task, but there are some pointers to the pace of real-estate activity, says Mr Ramesh Nair , Managing Director, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj. In an interview with Business Line, he discusses the reasons for decline in real-estate prices in some pockets, private equity funds’ evolving approach to the sector and the entry of foreign developers.

Excerpts from the interview:

What are the indicators of real-estate market peaking?

A real-estate bubble occurs when housing prices take an unhealthy climb instead of rising gradually with the rate of inflation or the rise in median income. Correction also occurs in pockets where property prices have risen without the support of fundamentals such as infrastructure.

If employment rates were to fall due to overall economic slowdown leading to decrease in purchasing power, one would find housing prices immediately softening and eventually dropping. Fortunately this is not the case in most parts of India.

Cycles are common in every industry, not just in real estate. If one looks at volume of sales and performance of the housing finance sector, there has definitely been a slowdown across the country. The number of apartments being sold in the fourth quarter of 2007 is definitely lower than in the corresponding quarter of 2006.

Also, the home loan market, which was growing at over 30 per cent in 2005 and 2006, has logged only 10-15 per cent growth this year. Volume of sales and housing loans are, therefore, two key indicators.

Buyers need to exercise caution and good financial judgment before investing in real estate today. Although the India real-estate story is real, large in size and will pay in the long run, developers need to realise that volumes are inversely related to price; lower the price higher the opportunity.

What are the key reasons for the slowdown in some pockets?

Higher prices and interest rates have been impacting affordability; to a lesser extent, excess supply in a few micro markets, rather than slowdown of economy, are the key reasons. Developers who were selling their entire projects in a few days are now taking months to sell their unsold stock. However, no major drop in prices is expected immediately as the vacancy rate of unsold completed residential real-estate stock is still low.

What are the factors that would enable developers to carry through various market phases?

Understanding what drives the ups and downs of the real-estate cycle can prove valuable to developers. Phases of a real-estate cycle are not consistent in length, making it difficult to predict when a new phase will begin.

Projecting current trends indefinitely into the future is therefore risky. One should view market booms with caution and search for opportunities in downturns. Developers should also resist excess optimism at the top of cycles and instead focus on understanding why the market conditions are changing.

Successful developer strategies that achieve above-market returns over the long run are dependent on understanding the macro and micro market cycles, differentiating end-users from investors, good market timing and a degree of contrarianism.

Overseas funds have been pouring money into the realty market. Have you seen any change in their approach towards investing in the sector?

The sector opened up in February 2005, after the announcement of Press Note 2 by the Cabinet Committee of the Central Government. The last two-and-a-half years have seen nearly 70 PE funds establish operations in India. Most of the funds that have come in are opportunistic in nature. On a lighter note, 2005 was the year of the REITs — Real Estate Investment Tourists — coming to India from all over the world to get a feel of the opportunities!

The year 2006 was one of searching for partners who have access to land. And 2007 has been the year for searching for partners who have good execution skills. Most funds have gone through a learning curve. The initial preference was to look at opportunities wherever it emerged in the country.

Most funds today are focused on specific locations and asset classes. For instance, a number of them are focused on west and south India, investing in technology parks and residential townships. In the future, I think middle class budget housing and warehousing are two segments that may attract interest.

While funding was a welcome move, there are overseas construction players and developers entering the market through joint ventures. What is the impact?

The impact has definitely been positive. With international developers and PE funds entering the market, the local players are getting more organised, professional and corporatised. This would help in increasing quality and timelines will be met. Thanks to the deep pockets of the international players, the scale of projects will also increase. This will not only help create pan- India developers but will also bring about innovative financing and exit strategies. Most importantly, the supply will go up, benefiting end-users — as increased supply can bring down the prices.

From a stock market perspective, players with a pan-India presence appear to be enjoying high premium vis-À-vis the regional players? Do you think the regional players are at a disadvantage?

I would not think so. Being a regional player in a niche market is a positive. Real estate is still predominantly a local game. A local player would know the land pockets, tenants, consumers, brokers and local authorities and rules better.

Moreover, when the market conditions get tough it may not always be prudent to diversify into little known markets. During such phases, it makes sense to focus on one’s core competencies either in terms of specific asset classes (such as residential, commercial or IT parks) or well-acclimatised markets.

But regional developers need to build a strong management team, a high-quality asset base and a long-term differentiation strategy. Many of them just take up deals that are relatively opportunistic.

In future, there would be two critical dimensions of success for such developers. The first is finding good deals… finding those projects, tenants and locations that are going to be economically attractive. The second critical dimension of the business is executing those deals well. These would provide them with a sound competitive strategy against large developers.

Developers here have been comfortable with the ‘sell model’ for long? There is now an increasing change towards projects through lease model as well? What has brought about this change?

Leasing of space by a number of developers is a welcome move. The change has been driven by the needs of the end-users and the increased availability of debt and equity capital. Most developers realised that selling strata title was not the right strategy. Property management and renewals are a nightmare when properties are sold in parts to multiple investors.

The developers also lose control over the tenancy mix. Especially in a mall, one needs to have control over who the tenants are going to be to make it a successful destination. Faster and easier access to debt and equity has brought about this change. Large financial institutions are willing to invest in a whole building, instead of in parts, and securitisation options have helped bring about this change.

Repeated news!!



New flyovers to cost Rs. 110 crore

Staff Reporter
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Alignment designs ready; bids to be invited


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CHENNAI: The total cost of new flyovers at Ganesapuram and Mint junctions in north Chennai and the subway-cum-flyover at Thiruvanmiyur junction in south Chennai is estimated at Rs.110 crore, Mayor M. Subramanian said here on Saturday.

The Corporation Council adopted a resolution on acquiring land for the new projects. The alignment designs for the bridges are ready and bids would be invited for the project execution, the Mayor said.

The Ganesapuram flyover is estimated to cost Rs.30 crore; the Mint flyover Rs.30 crore and the Thiruvanmiyur – L.B. Road subway-cum-flyover Rs.50 crore.

Railway bridges


Mr. Subramanian said the work order for construction of long-pending railway bridge projects would be given to Subhash Projects and Marketing Limited (SPML) in January. SPML was the lowest bidder for the projects: Villivakkam subway, M.C. Road subway and Kathivakkam flyover in north Chennai and Rangarajapuram flyover, Saidapet Jones Road subway and a higher bridge to replace the Alandur causeway in south Chennai.

SPML’s bid for the north Chennai bridges package is Rs.29.35 crore and the south Chennai package Rs.31.44 crore.

The Korukkupet subway project, another long-pending demand, is likely to be delayed as the alignment requires heavy land acquisition.



http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/30/stories/2007123059180300.htm

Chennai Metro Rail firm’s first meeting on December 27

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/19/stories/2007121954520400.htm

Any news regarding this meeting?

http://www.business-standard.com/economy/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu2&subLeft=1&autono=309128&tab=r

Bangalore continues to lead in commercial real estate space absorption with demand of over 13 million square feet followed by National Capital Region (NCR) with 10.6 million square feet and Chennai with 8.7 million square feet.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/31/stories/2007123159941200.htm

Underwater aquarium coming up at Muttukadu

T.S. Shankar

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation will set up a state-of-the-art underwater world aquarium, on 15 acres, at Muttukadu in Kancheepuram district.

The tourist attraction will be set up on a public-private partnership and modelled on the Sentosa Island underwater world in Singapore.

The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) will select the private partner through international competitive bidding. The land will be leased out to the successful bidder for 30 years.


A Tourism Department official told The Hindu that the TIDCO would lay down the eligibility criteria for the development of the facility.

“The modalities, including the cost component, are being worked out,” he said.

The proposal was examined in consultation with the Finance Department, and since the land availability was the prime factor, it was decided to follow upfront payment of the current market value of the land through an international competitive bidding agency.

^^ well i was wondering.. even tho india is really booming, there were no projects announced for a great amusement park or something (in world class standards), i feel India needs a Disney or a huge underworld aquarium.. well this some good news...

HAPPY NEW YEAR CHENNAI!!
:cheers::cheers::cheers:

3 aircraft parking bays for Chennai airport

10 more bays planned during the next fiscal year
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CHENNAI: The Chennai airport will have three new remote aircraft parking bays from the New Year day.

Dinesh Kumar, Airport Director, told The Hindu that with the commissioning of the new parking bays, the airport would have a total of 60. Airports Authority of India officials were planning to add 10 more bays during the next fiscal. Four stands would be allotted for Boeing 747-type aircraft. “Creating more parking bays and improving infrastructure would address the future requirements,” he said.

As A-380 aircraft were likely to land at Indian airports in 2008, the Chennai airport had been upgraded to Fire Category-10 from Category-9. The AAI was also planning to acquire three more sophisticated fire tenders for the airport. The AAI had created a parking bay exclusively for the A-380 aircraft, Mr. Dinesh Kumar said. A domestic terminal was planned for which pre-qualification documents were being processed. The work would begin in February-March, he said.

The demolition of the old arrival hall at the Anna international terminal had begun. The refurbished international arrival hall would be ready in two years.

Both the aircraft as well as passenger movement had recorded a steep growth last year. The aircraft movement on the international sector grew by 18 per cent, and the passenger movement also grew at the same rate. On the domestic sector, the aircraft movement grew by 23 per cent and the passenger movement by 27 per cent. During the same period, the international cargo had registered an 18 per cent growth, Mr. Dinesh Kumar said.

As part of efforts to decongest the domestic terminal, the AAI introduced security checking on the first floor of the domestic departure. This provided the much-needed relief during the peak hours in mornings and evenings.


http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/01/stories/2008010159810900.htm

The milestones in transport sector


MRTS extension, deluxe, AC buses major developments

http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/01/images/2008010159360401.jpg

— PHOTO: M.KARUNAKARAN

NEW ENTRANT: The air-conditioned bus service, with digital display boards introduced in 2007 were well-received. The MTC plans to launch more this year.

CHENNAI: Public transport in Chennai saw significant developments over the last year. The most talked about development of the year was the extension of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) from Tirumaylai to Velacheri and the introduction of the deluxe and air-conditioned buses onto the streets of Chennai.

A senior official of the Chennai Division of Southern Railway said it had spent Rs. 22 crore for additional passenger facilities in 2007. The official called the MRTS extension a “major achievement” as it had been pending for a while.

Though passenger amenities at the MRTS stations are still not up to many passengers’ satisfaction, the official said that the division would be providing them gradually. The next phase of the MRTS project is extension up to St Thomas Mount. Patronage for the MRTS has significantly increased following its extension to Velachery.

As there has been a 30 per cent increase in suburban traffic, the division has extended services to Tiruttani on the Chennai-Arakkonam side and upto Villupuram on the Tambaram-Chengalpattu section. To meet the increasing rush of commuters, 12-car EMU rakes were introduced. The division has also asked for allotment of more EMU coaches to replace the old ones.

The highlight on the roads was the introduction of the deluxe low-floor bus series early in 2007. A further image boost for the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) came with the introduction of 10 air-conditioned buses in September. According to a senior official at the MTC, a total of 733 new buses were introduced, including the deluxe series and the A/C buses.

At the end of the year, the MTC conducted a large-scale public consultation meeting, at which Minister of Transport. K.N. Nehru said the MTC would be introducing 325 new services by January first week. In the city alone 42 new services have already been introduced and the MTC plans to have 3000 services up and running by March.


http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/01/stories/2008010159360400.htm

The milestones in transport sector



http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/01/stories/2008010159360400.htm

Dear ARUL ,
I have always dreamt of having such buses in TN especially in Chennai and our Madurai whenever I got to travel in it in Bangalore city......A part of my dream comes true by having such buses in our capital city chennai....This bus looks great with electronic boards , theater like seatings , fully air-conditioned etc., .....
I hope the same will be introduced in our temple city MADURAI too soon...

Chennai, Dec. 30 Ford India has registered a profit after tax in 2006-07, for the first time since it started manufacturing at a greenfield plant here eight years back. Hyundai Motor India’s net profit for the year is down compared to that in 2005-06.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/12/31/stories/2007123151580100.htm

More news.......

Wednesday January 2 2008 06:57 IST

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M Karunanidhi will induct 1,000 new buses here on January 3 for various transport corporations in the State.

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), which will be getting 500 new buses, including semi low floor type vehicles with automatic door, has decided to introduce 83 new routes in the city to increase the existing frequency in 42 ‘overcrowded’ routes.

According to official sources, the MTC will replace around 300 buses which are more than ten-year-old while the remaining will be inducted as new services.

“With this, the total number of buses will be 3100. Presently, we are finalising the new routes and places for which we are going to increase the existing frequency of services,” said a senior MTC official.

MTC had given due consideration to as many as 200 representations from the passengers received at a face-to-face meeting with the public last month.

“We have considered all the representations seeking redressal of various grievances, including demand for new routes and additional services. We have planned to organise such meetings at zonal level also,” said another MTC official.

Officials also said the government had assured that the MTC’s number of buses on road would be increased to 4000 by this year.

A/C buses: Of the 1000 new buses, the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) will get 50 vehicles, including seven air-conditioned buses and 43 ultra-deluxe buses.

“As of now, we have 950 buses and for the first time, we will have air-conditioned buses. While the government has allotted 50 air-conditioned buses, the remaining 43 buses will be introduced soon,” said a senior official in the SETC.

It is learnt that transport corporations in Madurai and Coimbatore will also get two air-conditioned buses each.

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE920080101203605&Page=9&Headline=City+to+get+500+modern%2C+83+new+routes&Title=Chennai&Topic=0

Encroachments stall road expansion
R. Srikanth
— Photo: M. Karunakaran

STUMBLING BLOCK: Work to widen CSIR Road has been hit by encroachments on a stretch.

CHENNAI: A project to widen CSIR Road, which serves as a crucial link from Velachery and Taramani to the Rajiv Gandhi Salai (IT Corridor), has hit a roadblock with the Chennai Corporation finding it difficult to remove the encroachments in the way.

The widening project, at an estimated cost of Rs.2 crore, is expected to reduce the travel time for motorists from Velachery and Taramani to the IT Corridor and Thiruvanmiyur.

A number of leading IT firms and premier research institutions, including those of the Central government, are located on CSIR Road. The road also houses the Taramani bus terminus, one of the few such facilities in a radius of several km. CSIR Road also contributes immensely to decongesting the IT Corridor.

A Corporation official said the widening work has been stopped as those who have encroached upon the road have raised objection to the proposed demolition of their shops and houses. They have sought time to vacate the place. But the encroachments would be removed soon to facilitate completion of the work, he said.

On completion of the work on the 1.4-kilometre stretch, CSIR Road would be 60 feet wide with a 5-foot-wide stormwater drain network on either side and a median.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/03/stories/2008010358060100.htm

A picture of kathipara junction courtesy :
http://indianskyscraperblog.wordpress.com/

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9499/tm230807e1080120cnizh9.jpg

^^
dont think its kathipara ... but not sure which of the other two sites it is

^^
dont think its kathipara ... but not sure which of the other two sites it is

The Picture is of the Padi Flyover.

This one is the Padi Flyover. One could see the railway line (Padi - Annanagar) in the top right hand corner. This picture should have been taken from the Americorp(former Silverline Tech) building.

ET reported that M&M has pulled out of the Nissan JV.
But no official confirmation yet.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/MM_pulls_out_of_tripartite_JV_with_Renault_Nissan/articleshow/2675445.cms

ET reported that M&M has pulled out of the Nissan JV.
But no official confirmation yet.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/MM_pulls_out_of_tripartite_JV_with_Renault_Nissan/articleshow/2675445.cms

Its confirmed news.However Renault Nissan joint venture stands according to CNBC channel news.

Its confirmed news.However Renault Nissan joint venture stands according to CNBC channel news.

M&M out of the tripartite JV. Only time will tell if Renault and Nissan are going to continue with their plans.
I wonder what M&M is going to do with the land allocated at Oragadam.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/22502172

Its confirmed news.However Renault Nissan joint venture stands according to CNBC channel news.


Even if M&M pull out, the other two are likely to go ahead with the project. Moreover, it is not easy to get such a large tract of land in Oragadam now. Hence, the project will go on, with a few changes in the composition of the tie-ups.

correct me, if i am wrong

http://www.livemint.com/2008/01/05002302/Cracks-appear-in-MampM-pact.html

In what could be the first sign of differences between Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M) and its partners Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. that are together setting up a facility near Chennai to manufacture cars and other vehicles, the Indian company has decided against making any of its vehicles in that factory, according to a person familiar with the development.
The joint venture firm is yet to acquire the land on which the factory is to come up.
A file picture of Mahindra Group managing director Anand Mahindra (left) with Renault chief executive Carlos Ghosn (Picture by: Ashesh Shah / Mint)The person, an auto industry executive who did not wish to be identified, said M&M had initially planned to make tractors and utility vehicles at the factory, but was asked by Renault and Nissan to give up its claim to any part of the 400,000 vehicles a year capacity of the plant, which is to start production in 2009. The factory was to have had the capacity to make 50,000 tractors a year. M&M has a 50% stake in the joint venture with the other two companies holding the remainder.
M&M officials, including Pawan Goenka, president (automotive) of the company, were unavailable for comment on Thursday. The company’s spokesperson responded on Friday to questions mailed on Thursday and said M&M had no comment to offer. Renault and Nissan officials in India declined to comment on the status of the joint venture.
“I don’t have a clue about this and you will find no one in India to comment on this issue,” said Neeraj Garg, director (sales and marketing), Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. “We are very, very bullish on India,” he added.
Nissan India’s managing director Y. Motihiro, who is in Japan, could not immediately be contacted because the company is closed till Monday.
Meanwhile, on Friday evening, PTI, citing unnamed sources, said M&M had pulled out of the joint venture. The news agency claimed M&M had done this because Renault and Nissan had firmed up other partnerships in India, including one by the former with Bajaj Auto Ltd to make an inexpensive small car.
Mint could not independently verify this.
M&M and Renault have an existing joint venture that makes and sells the latter’s low-cost sedan Logan. Nissan recently signed an agreement with truck maker Ashok Leyland Ltd to set up three joint ventures.
The auto industry executive said Renault and Nissan had edged M&M out because they “believe that they will be able to sell more than what they initially planned to sell here”. He added that the two companies had requested M&M to manufacture its utility vehicles elsewhere. The executive said M&M would now make these at a new plant that it is setting up in Maharashtra’s evolving auto hub, Chakan, near Pune. The plant is being set up to manufacture a range of trucks in collaboration with US-based truck manufacturer International Truck and Engine Corp. The Chakan plant is coming up on 700 acres of land acquired from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corp. (MIDC). MIDC officials, who did not wish to be identified, said M&M is acquiring additional land in the region.
According to vendors associated with the two companies, the Renault-Nissan combine is preparing a line-up of 11 products for the Indian market, including a compact car from Nissan’s portfolio and variants of the Logan from the Renault stable. The products will be launched over the next few years. Of the 11, Nissan, Japan’s third largest car manufacturer, will bring in eight models and Renault will drive in with three, including a compact commercial vehicle built along the lines of its existing Kangoo van, which is sold in Europe and other parts of the world. It may also launch a small car based on its Logan platform, the vendors said on condition of anonymity.
The vendors claimed that Nissan was in discussions with them for two small cars it planned to bring to India.
The auto industry executive said the Nissan-Renault combine’s move has put a spoke in M&M’s original plan to gradually shift the production of a number of its new vehicles to Chennai.
The company currently has manufacturing facilities at Kandivili in Mumbai (for pick-up trucks), Nashik in Maharashtra, where it manufactures the Logan in collaboration with Renault, Igatpuri in Maharashtra (for engines), and Haridwar. Another manufacturing facility that it owns at Zaheerabad in Andhra Pradesh has been transferred to its joint venture with International Trucks.
Meanwhile, the M&M-Nissan-Renault joint venture’s plans to start production at the new plant in Chennai by 2009 may not work out, with the land acquisition process still incomplete. Tamil Nadu’s special secretary (industries) S.S. Gopalakrishnan said 600 acres of land has been acquired at Oragadam, near south Chennai, for the project and that the acquisition of the remaining 500 acres is under way and is expected to be complete by the end of February.The project is already behind schedule by at least seven-eight months. :bash:
Renault India’s managing director Sylvain Bilaine had said in a November interview that the joint venture partners are struggling to meet the deadline for the project. The Renault-Nissan combine has also expressed interest in acquiring additional land to house a vendor park in the vicinity of the new plant. Tamil Nadu’s land acquisition process, like that of many other governments, has run into trouble with affected land owners forcing the government to go slow.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Probably, Nissan and Renault can use the additional capacity now available to manufacture Trucks and LCV's in partnership with Ashok Leyland here.

http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jan52008/scroll2008010545004.asp?section=updatenews

A decision could come next month when Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram presents his budget in Parliament.

The department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) in the ministry of commerce and industries has convened a meeting of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu government officials here on Monday for consultations on the new proposal.

The two states may be asked to come up with their respective feasibility reports on the proposed corridor and identify sources of funding for developing it, said a senior ministry official. According to a tentative plan of the Centre, the southern industrial corridor will come up between Chennai-Sriperumbudur-Ranipet-Hosur-Bangalore.
However, indications are that Karnataka may seek extension of the proposed corridor from Chennai to Mumbai, passing through Bangalore, Davanagere and Hubli-Dharward. The Karnataka government is apparently of the view that merely to have a corridor between Chennai and Bangalore would not help the state significantly since the Bangalore-Hosur section is already witnessing rapid industrial expansion, said sources.

Various industrial bodies have been pushing for the Chennai-Bangalore corridor for many years.

MK’s support
A few months ago, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi came out in support of the proposal and wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to take up implementation of the proposal. The DIPP believes that an industrial corridor between Chennai and Bangalore would be easy to develop as the areas that come under this have several key advantages in terms of availability of industries, skilled manpower and other basic infrastructure facilities.

Also, international airports in Chennai and Bangalore and two major sea ports at Chennai and Ennore would further contribute to the growth of this corridor, said the official.

While Bangalore has the strength in information technology, Chennai’s advantage lies in automobile technology, manufacturing and electronics. The two complement each other, the official said, adding that attracting an investment of at least $25 billion over the next five years to develop the corridor would not be a problem.

Salient features
*Where to where: Chennai-Sriperumbudur-Ranipet-Hosur-Bangalore
*Potential for investment of at least $25 billion
*Karnataka would like corridor from Chennai to Mumbai, passing through Bangalore, Davangere and Hubli-Dharward
*Pluses: Skilled manpower and infrastructure facilities
*Bangalore’s strength is in IT, Chennai’s edge lies in automobile tech, manufacturing and electronics

http://machinist.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=763&Itemid=2

Mumbai: In a press statement issued by Dr. Pawan Goenka, President, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., he says " There have been several media reports on Mahindra pulling out of the tripartite manufacturing plant to be set up in Chennai. We would not like to comment on these speculative reports."


"However, we would like to make a clarification with respect to a specific comment made in some media reports about Mahindra being unhappy with the multiple alliances of Renault and Nissan in India. On this point we would like to reiterate, as we have done in the past, that M&M has no objections to Renault and Nissan having multiple alliances as long as they do not conflict with the existing Mahindra Renault JV. Moreover, multiple alliances are a normal practice in the auto industry and M&M itself has multiple alliances in India."

"We would also like to reiterate that M&M has a very strong and healthy relationship with Renault and both partners are proud of the success of the Logan and the recognition and accolades the product has received which is a result of the co-operation between the two partners," he added.
------------------------------------------------------------

As per this statement, it looks like Nissan and Renault wants the whole 400,000 capacity and might have asked M and M to give up their rights. It doesn't look like a strained relationship.:)

L & T CEO Mr Naik met TN CM. He brought in a high profile recomendation in Mr Chidambaram FM so that problems are sorted out amicably. Now establishment of the proposed Ship building yard may go through smoothly...Wish an announcement comes soon!

L & T CEO Mr Naik met TN CM. He brought in a high profile recomendation in Mr Chidambaram FM so that problems are sorted out amicably. Now establishment of the proposed Ship building yard may go through smoothly...Wish an announcement comes soon!

We must be greatful that L&T is being persistent with this - they must really want to set this up in TN. I hope PC is able to make MK see the light - this will be a real boost to super heavy manufacturing.

We must be greatful that L&T is being persistent with this - they must really want to set this up in TN. I hope PC is able to make MK see the light - this will be a real boost to super heavy manufacturing.

Please post the source

Please post the source

Source : Dailythanthi.

http://www.dailythanthi.com/article.asp?NewsID=385315&disdate=1/6/2008&advt=1

:cheers:

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE920080104234818&Page=9&Title=Chennai&Topic=0&

CHENNAI: The beautification of Anna Salai, one of the most prominent avenues in the city, was discussed at a high-level meeting, headed by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, at the Secretariat on Friday.

The existing condition of Anna Salai was reviewed in the meeting. Also, the Chief Minister saw the images of the flyovers and overbridges in powerpoint slides.

According to the proposal, the pillars of flyovers and overbridges will be cleaned. Paintings will adorn them.

In the spaces under the flyovers and overbridges a garden will be raised. Lights focussing on this garden will also be installed.

Sources added that many designs had been submitted to the Chief Minister for approval.

Senior Ministers, including Durai Murugan and Arcot N Veerasamy, participated.

Source : Dailythanthi.

http://www.dailythanthi.com/article.asp?NewsID=385315&disdate=1/6/2008&advt=1

:cheers:

http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7BF2DC8EB6-79ED-48AD-8393-00B51181E426%7D&CATEGORYNAME=CHN

Chennai, Jan. 05 A delegation from Larsen and Toubro today met Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and submitted a proposal for setting up a shipyard in Tamil Nadu with a huge investment. Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram accompanied the delegation which was led by L and T Chairman A M Naik.

Talking to reporters after a nearly 30-minute meeting with Mr Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence, Mr Chidambaram said the Chief Minister had agreed to favourably consider the proposal.

Mr Naik and Mr Chidambaram said the shipyard would come up with a huge investment and would generate employment on a massive scale. One of the L and T officials, who was part of the delegation, said the investments would be to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore and the location for the proposed shipyard would be decided soon.

Please post the source

Yesterday Sun TV was telecasting this news. P.Chidambaram and L & T chief Naik were seen with TN CM

http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7BF2DC8EB6-79ED-48AD-8393-00B51181E426%7D&CATEGORYNAME=CHN

Chennai, Jan. 05 A delegation from Larsen and Toubro today met Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and submitted a proposal for setting up a shipyard in Tamil Nadu with a huge investment. Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram accompanied the delegation which was led by L and T Chairman A M Naik.

Talking to reporters after a nearly 30-minute meeting with Mr Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence, Mr Chidambaram said the Chief Minister had agreed to favourably consider the proposal.

Mr Naik and Mr Chidambaram said the shipyard would come up with a huge investment and would generate employment on a massive scale. One of the L and T officials, who was part of the delegation, said the investments would be to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore and the location for the proposed shipyard would be decided soon.

Looks like this project is going to A.P most probably to be set up in the huge SEZ zone near krishnapatnam.Why is PC so anxious about this project to be set up in TN?Of late MK is not showing much interest.Look how u lost the CAPARO group U.K huge investment to A.P. source
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/01/06/stories/2008010651320100.htm

Looks like this project is going to A.P most probably to be set up in the huge SEZ zone near krishnapatnam.Why is PC so anxious about this project to be set up in TN?Of late MK is not showing much interest.Look how u lost the CAPARO group U.K huge investment to A.P. source
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/01/06/stories/2008010651320100.htm

Land is one huge issue in and around Chennai. Getting 2000 acres for the Caparo group is not an easy thing at throw away prices. Some companies purely go by incentives and some not.

Land is one huge issue in and around Chennai. Getting 2000 acres for the Caparo group is not an easy thing at throw away prices. Some companies purely go by incentives and some not.

Caparo investments don't fructify immediately. They book land in advance expecting demand to come in future. For example, their plants in Sriperumbudur and Madurai is based on "solid demand" from their clients Hyundai and TAFE. However, the land allotted for them in Oragadam is still not developed, since they plan to develop it only after Renault-Nissan plant becomes operational. Regarding their aerospace SEZ, I don't think they have a client as of now. They are just playing wait and watch game. They don't want to commit thousands crores in buying land in Sriperumbudur or Oragadam for a project which may not fructify in the near future. Instead buying land in Nellore at such throwaway price seems to be a very wise business decision. Nellore is as close to Chennai and Ennore ports as sriperumbudur and Oragadam is. Connectivity to the port is also not an issue due to presence of NH5.

In future, lot of other companies will also follow Caparo's footsteps and it is inevitable that Nellore transforms into another Hosur!

The point I would like to emphasise is that, the decision of Caparo's has nothing to do with inneffectiveness of TN government. It is just pure play market dynamics.

Caparo investments don't fructify immediately. They book land in advance expecting demand to come in future. For example, their plants in Sriperumbudur and Madurai is based on "solid demand" from their clients Hyundai and TAFE. However, the land allotted for them in Oragadam is still not developed, since they plan to develop it only after Renault-Nissan plant becomes operational. Regarding their aerospace SEZ, I don't think they have a client as of now. They are just playing wait and watch game. They don't want to commit thousands crores in buying land in Sriperumbudur or Oragadam for a project which may not fructify in the near future. Instead buying land in Nellore at such throwaway price seems to be a very wise business decision. Nellore is as close to Chennai and Ennore ports as sriperumbudur and Oragadam is. Connectivity to the port is also not an issue due to presence of NH5.

In future, lot of other companies will also follow Caparo's footsteps and it is inevitable that Nellore transforms into another Hosur!


The point I would like to emphasise is that, the decision of Caparo's has nothing to do with inneffectiveness of TN government. It is just pure play market dynamics.

Very true.A city of chennai's stature should definitely help in the industrialisation of areas in 100 km , radius surrounding it irrespective of the state.It will reflect on the stature of the city .Also Setting up of industries in Nellore will have more cascading effect on the economy of chennai than on AP's as chennai's industrial strengths might be the main reason why they choose nellore dt .

Looks like this project is going to A.P most probably to be set up in the huge SEZ zone near krishnapatnam.Why is PC so anxious about this project to be set up in TN?Of late MK is not showing much interest.Look how u lost the CAPARO group U.K huge investment to A.P. source
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/01/06/stories/2008010651320100.htm

No way that this project will go outside TN.Lure of TN appears to be bigger than the attractiveness of AP.Nobody ll write so many "love letters" if the girl is not charming enough.

No way that this project will go outside TN.Lure of TN appears to be bigger than the attractiveness of AP.Nobody ll write so many "love letters" if the girl is not charming enough.

Ofcourse But The Love is in The Air That Landed in A.P.The Most Charming Part That's in Nellore.The Place of Industrialists.Krishnapatnam will no more offer space for chennai to handle shipping.:lol:

AP has been trying to do a 'Hosur' close to Chennai for quite some time. They tried to woo Volkswagen in Tada to create an auto hub, which was an utter failure. They are trying again this time with CAPARO.

However, it is difficult to understand, why CAPARO wants to build aerospace parts park in AP, when Karnataka is the leading state in India, as far as aerospace manufacturing is concerned.

AP has been trying to do a 'Hosur' close to Chennai for quite some time. They tried to woo Volkswagen in Tada to create an auto hub, which was an utter failure. They are trying again this time with CAPARO.

However, it is difficult to understand, why CAPARO wants to build aerospace parts park in AP, when Karnataka is the leading state in India, as far as aerospace manufacturing is concerned.

Well, it make sense to be close to Chennai when it comes to manufacturing and logistics. With abundant skilled man-power in manufacturing and 2 major sea ports and an international airport, areas in and around Chennai are very attractive. On top of that, if some one is giving an acre for 1 lakh, that is a powerful incentive.

Looks like this project is going to A.P most probably to be set up in the huge SEZ zone near krishnapatnam.Why is PC so anxious about this project to be set up in TN?Of late MK is not showing much interest.Look how u lost the CAPARO group U.K huge investment to A.P. source
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/01/06/stories/2008010651320100.htm

If not TN, this project will go the Gujarat way. That is for sure based on L and T's past press releases. They have dropped kakinada some time back.