NEWS FEED: INDIA FORBES
Spread over 1,550 acres, some 60 km from Chennai, MWC houses three sector-specific special economic zones (SEZs): Information technology, auto ancillary and apparel and fashion accessories. It also has a domestic tariff area (space for India-focussed companies), and boasts of a railway station on site. Since its inception in 2002, 64 companies including Infosys, Wipro, BASF, Renault-Nissan, BMW, TVS Group and Capgemini have set up a base. There are about 38,000 employees, and the cumulative exports from MWC in 2014-15 (as of February) stood at Rs 7,062 crore. So far, Rs 4,100 crore has been invested into the township by both, the companies that have set up their units there and the Mahindra Group.
Its success is also reflected in the fact that the space earmarked for SEZs has been sold out and only 45 acres are left for companies to set up units under the domestic tariff area. This, despite the fact that the land rates inside MWC is twice that of other industrial parks around Chennai. Ramdas Kamath, executive vice president, Infosys, is all praise for the township. “Infosys was the first company to set up its IT Park inside MWC Chennai. In a short span of time, we have grown to house 16,000 software professionals there. Its best-in-class infrastructure has attracted renowned corporations to set up their units. We are the happiest SEZ unit among them,” says Kamath, adding that Infosys wants to be associated with MWC in all future projects.
It helps that the township has 285 acres of residential, social and retail infrastructure. About 700 families live within MWC, but once the residential projects are completed and sold, it will be able to house 8,000 families. “What we have created is an economic nerve centre with strong infrastructure and connectivity,” says Sangeeta Prasad, CEO, Integrated Cities & Industrial Clusters, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd, the company that handles the real estate development business of the $27.84 billion Mahindra Group. “At the same time, we have ensured that many elements of a city are available, with respect to residential, retail and commercial aspects so that MWC becomes an all-encompassing place,” she adds. Some of the amenities include a 60,000 sq ft commercial centre, an MWC Club spread over 4 acres, the Mahindra World School with more than 600 students and a hospital (now limited to out-patient and diagnostic services). A hostel and a multiplex are also being planned.
Another happy client—and resident—is Mahijeet Mishra, managing director of Armstrong International Pvt Ltd, an American company that specialises in thermal engineering. “I have not enjoyed my single malt like I do now with Jagjit Singh’s music playing in the background,” says Mishra, who has been calling MWC home for the past six years. “There is no pollution, dust or noise. Thanks to 1,000 acres of reserve forest land and seven water bodies that surround MWC, the temperature is relatively lower. The serenity is at times divine,” he adds. His two daughters attend Mahindra World School.
Prasad believes that integrated cities are the future. “Setting them up away from existing cities is the way forward if India has to handle rapid urbanisation. In fact, the government’s plan to develop a hundred ‘smart cities’ comes from this need,” she says.
But most developers have not been very successful in setting up such projects. This could explain the scepticism in the industry that greeted MWC in the initial years. The township, however, proved naysayers wrong and its success can be attributed to 10 principles.
Building partnerships:
MWC Chennai is a joint venture between the Mahindra Group (89 percent) and the government-run Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (11 percent). “The PPP model [public-private partnership] helped us focus on our core competence, which is infrastructure development. With the government being a partner, approvals and clearances were not time consuming,” says S Chandru, COO, MWC. The state government helped MWC bag clients like BMW India by throwing in incentives to deter the automaker from going to Maharashtra. “It is a symbiotic relationship,” says Prasad. MWC has repeated the formula in its second township in Jaipur, where it has entered into a joint venture with the Rajasthan government.
Its success is also reflected in the fact that the space earmarked for SEZs has been sold out and only 45 acres are left for companies to set up units under the domestic tariff area. This, despite the fact that the land rates inside MWC is twice that of other industrial parks around Chennai. Ramdas Kamath, executive vice president, Infosys, is all praise for the township. “Infosys was the first company to set up its IT Park inside MWC Chennai. In a short span of time, we have grown to house 16,000 software professionals there. Its best-in-class infrastructure has attracted renowned corporations to set up their units. We are the happiest SEZ unit among them,” says Kamath, adding that Infosys wants to be associated with MWC in all future projects.
It helps that the township has 285 acres of residential, social and retail infrastructure. About 700 families live within MWC, but once the residential projects are completed and sold, it will be able to house 8,000 families. “What we have created is an economic nerve centre with strong infrastructure and connectivity,” says Sangeeta Prasad, CEO, Integrated Cities & Industrial Clusters, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd, the company that handles the real estate development business of the $27.84 billion Mahindra Group. “At the same time, we have ensured that many elements of a city are available, with respect to residential, retail and commercial aspects so that MWC becomes an all-encompassing place,” she adds. Some of the amenities include a 60,000 sq ft commercial centre, an MWC Club spread over 4 acres, the Mahindra World School with more than 600 students and a hospital (now limited to out-patient and diagnostic services). A hostel and a multiplex are also being planned.
Another happy client—and resident—is Mahijeet Mishra, managing director of Armstrong International Pvt Ltd, an American company that specialises in thermal engineering. “I have not enjoyed my single malt like I do now with Jagjit Singh’s music playing in the background,” says Mishra, who has been calling MWC home for the past six years. “There is no pollution, dust or noise. Thanks to 1,000 acres of reserve forest land and seven water bodies that surround MWC, the temperature is relatively lower. The serenity is at times divine,” he adds. His two daughters attend Mahindra World School.
Prasad believes that integrated cities are the future. “Setting them up away from existing cities is the way forward if India has to handle rapid urbanisation. In fact, the government’s plan to develop a hundred ‘smart cities’ comes from this need,” she says.
But most developers have not been very successful in setting up such projects. This could explain the scepticism in the industry that greeted MWC in the initial years. The township, however, proved naysayers wrong and its success can be attributed to 10 principles.
Building partnerships:
MWC Chennai is a joint venture between the Mahindra Group (89 percent) and the government-run Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (11 percent). “The PPP model [public-private partnership] helped us focus on our core competence, which is infrastructure development. With the government being a partner, approvals and clearances were not time consuming,” says S Chandru, COO, MWC. The state government helped MWC bag clients like BMW India by throwing in incentives to deter the automaker from going to Maharashtra. “It is a symbiotic relationship,” says Prasad. MWC has repeated the formula in its second township in Jaipur, where it has entered into a joint venture with the Rajasthan government.
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