TN automotive sector would create 5 lakh jobs

Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu), Nov 4: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said the automotive sector in the state would create five lakh new job opportunities over the next ten years.

Addressing the foundation-laying ceremony of the Rs 470-crore Global Automotive Research Centre at Oragadam near here, he said Tamil Nadu was a forerunner in the automotive sector, with the entry of Hyundai Motors and Ford into the State in 1996 being a turning point.

As many Indian and foreign firms had established their facilities in the state to manufacture auto components, Tamil Nadu was contributing 35 per cent of the country's production of auto components. The state's share in the manufacture of motor vehicles had increased to about 20 per cent, he added.

He expressed hope that the global automotive research centre, to come up on 304 acres of land, would attract substantial share from the automotive testing sector's international market valued at 560 billion dollars.

With the setting up of the testing centre, Chennai would clinch an important place in the automotive industry's world map, he remarked.

Mr Karunanidhi said the state had so far attracted an investment of about one billion dollars in the automotive industry and created employment to about 80,000 workers.

It was expected that the production capacity would increase six to seven fold by 2015 and the investment would enhance to 15 billion dollars to 20 billion dollars, he added.

Stating that the Tamil Nadu government had signed MoUs with five global firms, Motorola, Apollo Tyres, Tessolve, Growthlink and Del Computers, in the last five months and attracted investments to the tune of Rs 2,300 crore, he said the initiatives would provide 24,000 direct employment and 26,000 indirect employment opportunities.

UNI