Ford global centre to begin operations in Chennai March

CHENNAI: Ford Motors will start operations of its Global Technology and Business Centre, which has come up in Chennai at a cost of `1300 crore, from March, a senior official of the company said.

“The centre is in its final stages and we have plans to start its operations before March,” said a senior official of the company. “State-of-the-art technology and international standards have been used in construction of the centre. It is the second largest facility of the company outside USA, the automaker’s global headquarters,” the official said.

The technology and business centre here will provide support services for the parent offices worldwide. The centre will serve as a hub for research, product designing and development, mobility solutions and business services. “The new centre will give a major boost to the company’s product development network,’ said the official.

Ford got the Tamil Nadu government’s approval in 2016 to set up a global technology and business centre under the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd’s (ELCOT) special economic zone (SEZ) at Sholinganallur. The new centre is spread across 28 acres.

The company had set a deadline of 2019 to start operations of the centre. It is happy that the project had been completed within the stipulated time limit.

The company had approached the State government seeking land measuring 1.47 acres, near the project site, as it require the land for developing the approach road for speedy access to its facility. The issue was pending for a long time with the Revenue department. However, company officials confirmed that the government has given them assurance on the issue. “The State government is working on it and the matter will be resolved soon,” the official said.

Ascendas-Singbridge acquires 12.20 acre land in Chennai to set up IT 

Chennai: Ascendas-Singbridge Group, a leading sustainable urban development and business space solutions provider, announced on Thursday that it had acquired a land parcel of 12.20-acre in the city which will be developed into an IT park.

Acquired from GSquare Group, the land parcel is strategically located on Pallavaram–Thoraipakkam Road, an upcoming IT corridor that is connected to Old Mahabalipuram Road and Grand Southern Trunk Road, the two existing major IT corridors in Chennai. The first phase will offer approximately 1.10 million sq ft of Grade A business space and construction will commence soon based on approvals, a Ascendas-Singbridge release stated.

As an expansion of Ascendas-Singbridge Group’s iconic International Tech Park brand, the development will be named International Tech Park Chennai (ITPC) – Radial Road, after the flagship ITPC – Taramani. This will be the Group’s sixth property in Chennai, and will add to its current Chennai portfolio of two IT parks, an integrated industrial development hub and two logistics and warehouse facilities