Dip in commute time by 30 minutes to net 5,000 crore yearly

B Santhanam, MD, Saint-Gobain, presented his case by stating that Chennai’s workforce is two million strong. But, traffic congestion had a negative impact on the productivity of many companies where these millions are employed. Office-goers commuting between the city and their workplaces lose precious time due to infrastructural bottlenecks, such as the absence of comfortable last mile connectivity. “If the TN government is able to commit itself to bringing in place measures, to cut down the commute time by half-hour, it can result in savings of Rs 5,000 crore annually,” he said at Credai-JLL panel discussion, going on to share his  insights on the steps needed to  make the city’s road infrastructure more robust. 

Industry and bodies such as Credai would have to continue mounting pressure on the State so that there is a definite ease of doing business, he said, citing the need to make Chennai “more liveable.” 

In the MoU inked between the French glass manufacturing company and the TN government in 1997, a clause stated that a housing complex would be set up by the state for the firm’s employees. However, it was only on paper, Santhanam said, noting that the potential for housing development in Oragadam should target the middle and high income groups. “Sporadic attempts have been made but a systematic approach can help,” he said, seeking to bring to attention the challenges in the north, east and west of the growth locations in the city. 

BC Datta, Finance Controller, Hyundai Motor, advocated the need for housing complexes that could be closer to plants. The company which produces seven lakh cars annually, employs around 12,000. He also asked for housing projects that would cater to lower, middle and luxury segments. Given the presence of MNCs like Renault, Nissan and Daimler, there was a need for bigger housing facilities. “Right now, it happens in an unplanned, case to case basis. There is an absence of schools and hospitals,” he said, urging Credai to come out with projects that can come up on bigger areas through collaborative ventures. 

Datta also said the expats, Koreans, especially were fond of golf and though some of the housing projects offered amenities that includes golf courses, the expats were forced to come back to city as there was no schools nearby. This is an opportunity with expats that the developers had lost, he added. 

Earlier, Vikram Kapur, TN Industry Secretary, reiterated the investment climate was fine as seven of the projects that were inked during the Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) had commenced production. Over Rs 25,000 crore had already been invested which was over 10 pc of the investments that had taken off though  typically such projects take three to seven years to begin operations. 

Promotion of sunrise sectors such as aerospace and defence were being done in a focused way with  Sriperumbudur gearing up for the launch of an aerospace park as originally envisaged. 

The government and industry were pitching together particularly on this front and TN would be among the largest players to market itself as a state at the upcoming aerospace mega event in Bengaluru. “We are open to business round the year and not restricted to only events such as the GIM,” Vikram sought to point out, noting that TN was not averse to drawing inspiration from the states that were doing well now.