ETA STAR to develop USD 923 million IT township in India

The agreement for the joint venture was signed between the group's Managing Director, Mr. Syed M. Salahuddin and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) Chairman and Managing Director Mr. S. Ramasundaram in the presence of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mr. M. Karunanidhi.

Commenting on the new initiative, Mr. Syed M. Salahuddin said that the ETA group is an established name in several sectors of many economies and has become a natural choice for various National projects:

"We are definitely looking at India as a big opportunity to grow our businesses and our latest investment in Tamil Nadu is part of our regional expansion plans. In particular, we are delighted to further strengthen our relationship with the Tamil Nadu Government and hope to contribute to the growth of the booming Information Technology sector in India."

The IT township project would be implemented over a three year period by ETA Star Tech City Pvt. Ltd. to create space to an extent of 17.5 million square feet for apartments, row houses, bungalows, shopping mall, car park, hospitals, schools, hotels and service apartments in an area of about 350 acres. This includes a SEZ for IT and IT enabled services (ITES) in an area of about 50 acres and would provide employment to approximately 50,000 people. The entire land for the project had been privately purchased by the ETA Group. The project work is expected to start in August this year.

The group company is also involved with other infrastructure projects in India including metro rail, ports, power and roads.