Corporation plans SPV to identify vacant lands for Smart City facilities

For the first phase of development, vacant lands in Chetpet, Kannappar Ground, Basin Bridge, Walltax Road, Shenoy Nagar, Arcot Road, Avadhanam Papier Road in Choolai and Richards Park in Saidapet will be developed.

These lands belonging to the Corporation are strategically located in the heart of the city, well-connected and easily accessible – making them ideal locations for developmental projects such as multi-level car park and other amenities – to generate revenue and sustainability. 

“One of Chennai Smart City’s role is to generate revenue for the civic body. Depending on local market demand and feasibility studies, these lands – which are currently underutilised or unused – will be slotted for various projects. The Corporation is setting up mechanism to attract investments,” said a senior Smart City official.

The projects will be either worked on public private partnership (PPP) or engineering procurement and construction (EPC) model on a case-by-case scenario. For this, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be set up to “isolate risk factors involved and recruit specialised skills required for developing and managing such properties”. 

Corporation sources also added that the SPV will also be used for partnering and joint ventures, allow investors opportunities to be a part of such projects and generate revenue, while ensuring transparency. Investments from Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Company (TNIFMC) will be utilised through the proposed SPV for development of these land parcels, even as financing and revenue sharing models are being worked out.

Initially, vacant lands belonging to the Corporation will be developed and revenue generated will go into the civic body’s coffers. “If other government departments want to follow the same model, we can facilitate that,” added the official.