Discovering New Possibilities
Karaikal is historically known for its trade routes during French and British rule and has been a trading center from ancient times. Karaikal region which is part of the Puducherry Union Territory has since then seen rapid socio-economic development. The proactive policy initiatives like tax holidays and subsidies from the Government of Puducherry in the last 25 years has resulted in rapid urbanization and industrialization of the region.
Karaikal is nearer to the energy rich areas of the Cauvery river basin, resulting in Navaratna companies like ONGC and GAIL setting up their base here through their crude oil/ natural gas exploration and pipeline grid. Additionally a Gas based Power Plant called Pondicherry Power Corporation Limited, run by the Government of Puducherry makes Karaikal a power surplus region. The Chennai Petroleum Company Ltd (CPCL) runs a crude oil refinery which provides currently 1 MMTPA of POL products into the region through the IOCL distribution network. This refinery which is being upgraded to 9 MMTA will be making Karaikal a key center in the Energy map of India.
Karaikal is also adjacent to a cluster of Cement and Power plants in Central Tamilnadu notable among them being ILFS Power Plant, Nagai Power Plant, and Cement companies being that of Ramco, Chettinad, Ultratech and Dalmia making the region the Gateway to the Largest Industrial Belt of South India with immense business opportunities.
Private capital accumulation in the region has resulted in major industries like M/s Chemplast Sanmar, Henkel Spic, Jayaprakash Narayanan Spinning Mills, Sowndararaja Mills, Johnson Tiles, Regma Ceramic Tiles, Murudeswar ceramics, Karaikal chlorates etc starting their production. Besides this MSMEs like Oil mills, spinning mills, soap units, coir manufacturing etc. are running their businesses successfully in Karaikal.
The above industrial development would not have been realized without the setting up of a flag ship port at Kariakal which caters to the hinterland import/ export demand of central Tamil Nadu. KPPL imports crude for the CPCL refinery, coal, lime stone and other cement raw materials for Power and Cement plants, fertilizers to cater to the agricultural demand of the region and refined edible oil for the population of the region. Currently the Port at Karaikal is handling nearly 9 MMTPA of Cargo and is poised to expand into a 40 MMTP port by handling LNG, LPF, POL Products and Containerized cargo.
The industrial clusters in the Central Tamil Nadu region is worth to be mentioned which flags off the existing and emerging potential of the adjoining Karaikal region. Trichy is the engineering cluster which house nearly 175 medium industries manufacturing and fabricating industrial products. The Ordinance Factory at Trichy, the heavy engineering unit of BHEL, the Indian Railways Maintenance workshop leads the list of engineering industry. The other industrial cluster is Erode with its cotton spinning units and power looms making it a textile hub second to Tirupur and is aided by the regional headquarters of the Power loom development and export promotion council. The area is additionally a tanning cluster with 150 tanneries. The other agri and poultry cluster is the district of namakal which is the largest egg producing region of India and harvests the largest area for tapioca cultivation. Ariyalur district is the cement cluster and is popularly called as the cement city led by the TN governments TANCEM factory and other big industrial houses like Birlas and Dalmis have their national brands manufactured there besides the India cements factory. The Nagapatinum area adjoining to Karaikal is a center of fishing and hence fish processing industry with cold chain based industries located there. Similarly Cuddalore is a chemical cluster with Asian Paints being the leading name.
The Cauvery basin being ONGCs Oil exploration region is in the neighbourhood of Karaikal and Karaikal port handles coal for the Tamilnadu Government’s Mettur thermal plant in the Salem district.
In addition to Industrial development Karaikal has an excellent Urban Infrastructure with the area being connected by railway network for movement of both passengers and cargo. The roads are state of the art with an airport facility at Puducherry. All these hinterland connectivity makes easy access possible from Karaikal to the industrial centers of Erode, Salem, Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy etc. Coast Guard has also set up their base at Karaikal providing maritime security to the port town.
As far as Social Infrastructure is concerned Karaikal has developed into an educational hub. In addition to the Kendriya Vidyalaya, there are various government and private run schools. The notable are Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru College of Agriculture and Research Institute, National Institute of Technology, Puducherry (NITPY) and a campus of Puducherry University. A branch of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER) and Vinayaga Mission Medical College, and a private medical college are also established at Karaikal. In addition to the Government hospital and the JIPMER Hospital, Karaikal also houses many private specialized hospitals addressing the health needs of the population.
With its rivers and beaches and being near to the erstwhile French settlement of Puducherry Karaikal gives a peaceful and serene atmosphere for living with a historic and cultural ambience Karaikal is also a Gateway to various places of worship in the eastern coast of Tamilnadu. Three famous shrines, Darbaranyeswarar temple situated in Thirunallar in Karaikal district, Velankanni and Nagore are nearby Karaikal. Tranquebar Fort is just 8 kms from Karaikal.
With a district level population of 2, 22,589 the population density of Karaikal is 1275 per Sq. km. compared to Chennai metropolitan region which has a population density of 26,553 people per square kilometers. The literacy rate is 86.55 as against the national rate of 74.04 %. This statistics will help us judge the potential of the place
It is in this backdrop and in an era of competitive federalism, Government of Puducherry would like to showcase Karaikal’s investment potential to existing and potential investors. The Industrial Estate of the government of Puducherry (PIPDIC estate) has an area of 600 acres and is adjacent to Karaikal Port. Besides, this Karaikal Port itself has ample space for investors to set-up manufacturing and trading facilities. The proactive policy of the state under the leadership of its Hon’ble Chief Minister, Shri. V. Narayanasamy intends to capitalize the states and the port’s strengths and showcase its potential to attract investors.
‘Invest Karaikal’ is an initiative by the Government of Puducherry and Pondicherry Industrial Promotion Development and Investment Corporation Limited (PIPDIC) to showcase and make aware the numerous advantages and to showcase the various offers and initiatives the government provides to those investing in the port backup area. Karaikal, known for its culture, peaceful business environment, connectivity and other unparalleled advantages, will help you discover new possibilities for your businesses.
The event marks with presentations and discussions on investment potential of the region, experiences of the current investors, and opportunities it provides in the area of Food processing and edible oil refining, cement manufacturing, manufacture of electronics and allied products, Fabrication of heavy engineering equipment’s and Over dimensional Cargos, possibility of manufacturing naval based defense equipment bases to name a few.
