The ground-breaking net-zero industrial park will use renewable energy sources and innovative technologies to minimise carbon emissions
Singapore and Tamil Nadu are collaborating to develop India's first net-zero industrial park. This unique manufacturing complex will keep gas emissions as close to zero as possible. The State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Sipcot) and the Singapore-India Partnership Office in the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) have jointly signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the park.
The agreement was signed during Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin's visit to Singapore last year. The park is still in the planning stages, with both sides jointly creating a framework, which officials said will be ready in a year. The framework will guide every aspect of the park's operation, from how to measure emissions to funding.
Chennai is a hub for electronics manufacturing, home to major companies like Nokia and Samsung. The aim is to establish a net-zero industrial park that includes a cluster for electronics and electric vehicles. The plan is to utilise India's abundant renewable energy sources and implement waste recycling measures, among other innovative solutions, to reduce emissions.
Tamil Nadu is India's most industrialised state, with the largest number of factories, 38,837, accounting for 15 percent of the factories in the country. Sipcot runs 30 industrial parks across 5,780 hectares in Tamil Nadu and is planning 20 more across 18,210 hectares over the next decade, including the net-zero park.
For Singapore, the collaboration underlines the effort to foster sustainable practices within its borders and through international collaborations. The collaboration includes establishing pilots or proof-of-concept projects that incorporate sustainability into master planning, financing, logistics, renewable energy, water, and waste management.
Singapore companies have developed expertise in master planning and urban solutions. Some areas of collaboration include sustainable water management, waste management, renewable energy, monitoring technologies, and landfill management.
The Tamil Nadu government hopes that net-zero products will have added value in overseas markets, making them an attractive investment.
The primary challenge is to create a comprehensive framework that satisfies all stakeholders: the government, investors, allottees, and buyers. The Tamil Nadu government hopes that a key attraction for industries will be that net-zero products will have added value in overseas markets.
Like other countries, India has made commitments to cut emissions and reach the net-zero emission target by 2070. Across the country, green initiatives are coming up, from sustainable business parks to India's largest green energy park in the Rann of Kutch desert in Gujarat. The energy park is being built by the Adani Group, run by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.