Chennai Bangalore corridor snippets

After the Mumbai-Delhi corridor, all eyes are now on the Chennai-Bangalore corridor. Japan, which provided financial and technical aid to develop the proposed Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, a dedicated freight corridor estimated to cost $90 billion, is now looking at financing a similar one to connect Chennai with Bangalore. Corporates from Japan and trade officials say that for East Asian economic integration, it is imperative to develop a larger gateway from Chennai with better road and rail links connecting the hinterland to the port. “There is a need for a greater gateway in Chennai in the East Asian economic integration context,” says Daisuke Matsushima from JETRO (Japan External Trade Organisation), New Delhi. Already, the TN government is planning a dedicated Japanese cluster near Chennai for small and medium scale units. There are also plans to develop an alternative, shorter road alignment of 250km connecting Chennai with Bangalore. As per JETRO estimates, of the total Japanese business base in India , 31% is located in south India. Moreover, this region accounts for over 50% of India’s automobile exports and hence the Japanese are stressing on better infrastructure linkages for the regional production network spanning India and its east Asian neighbours. In fact, Japanese government officials say core nodal development (that is, an area where economy and society have developed and businesses are agglomerated to some extent) is quite visible in Chennai and hence it is high on their priority list. “The candidate areas of the study on core nodal areas this fiscal (March 2010) are Chennai-Bangalore and Hanoi Metropolitan area (Vietnam),” says Kunihiko Shinoda, director, financial cooperation division, ministry of economy, trade and industry, Japan. In order to harness the region’s potential, projects on the infrastructure front in the Chennai-Bangalore area would include the expansion of Ennore port and the outer ring road in Chennai. On the soft infrastructure front, the emphasis would be on promoting small and medium scale units through public financing schemes and technical assistance. To make the Chennai-Bangalore region an attractive industrial hub, the following are also considered essential — a dedicated freight corridor, single window clearance for industrial parks, and power infrastructure (quality and capacity). “There must be tripartite cooperation amongst FDI manufacturers, private developers and the government,” says Matsushima. He adds that Japanese companies are keen on high technology collaboration such as in the field of super critical technology for coal thermal plants, fuel logistics and integrated fuel supply chain facilities.