Designs to be prepared for Marina Business Centre

CHENNAI: The iconic Marina Beach in the city will soon house a sprawling business centre and mall as the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) has taken steps to prepare the design and other reports to construct the Marina Business Centre.

The TNHB that constructs housing units and sells to citizens across the State has invited consultants to prepare detailed technical reports including detailed design and drawings based on which the construction will be carried out.

Touted to be one of the biggest commercial complexes in the city, the construction of Marina Business Centre was announced by State Housing and Urban Development Minister S Muthusamy during the assembly session.

The Minister had then said that the centre will be an important landmark of the city.

The business centre will come up on land extending up to 25.16 acre in Foreshore Estate (Pattinapakkam) and the government will uproot several trees on the site for the construction. However, the government has promised to plant a higher number of trees than the number removed.

The Marina Business Centre will have movie theatres, malls, hotels and other features. It will be constructed at a total of more than Rs 1,200 crore under public-private partnership mode.

TNHB sources said that tenders will be floated once the designs and other reports are prepared. “The Marina Business Centre will become the biggest mall in the city and will elicit huge response from the business circle and residents due to its location. Also, it will generate revenue for the government,” an official said.

Meanwhile, the Department has allocated Rs 100 crore to the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to implement Renourishment and Revitalization of Chennai’s Shoreline project.

Under the project, the shoreline covering a 31-km stretch between Marina and Kovalam will be upgraded. A Government Order has already been issued to implement the project.