Tamil Nadu tops in attracting investments

 In FY14, a year when the investment projects attaining completion across the country clocked a sharp dip of 37 per cent at Rs.2.32 lakh crore, seven states led by Tamil Nadu bucked the broader trend of a dip in overall investment completions. Tamil Nadu recorded the completion of investments worth Rs.26,430 crore during the year, displacing Gujarat from the top slot, according to CMIE’s CapEx rankings.

The only time Tamil Nadu had managed to secure the top position with respect to completion of investment projects was way back in FY03, with the ranking having been consistently dominated by Gujarat and Maharashtra since then. Completion of projects is the most meaningful indicator of investment sentiment, when the invested funds transform into productive assets on the ground, generate employment and lead to the commencement of the production of new goods or services.

In FY14, Maharashtra retained its second position for the third consecutive year in the CMIE’s latest CapEx database, with completion of investments worth Rs.24,240 crore. Karnataka came in third, surpassing Gujarat, with completion of Rs.21,500 crore worth of investments.

After leading the charts for three consecutive years, Gujarat was down to the fifth position in FY14, with projects totaling Rs.20,460 crore achieving investment completion.

Rank	State	Completion of Investments (in Rs. crore)
1	Tamil Nadu	26, 430
2	Maharashtra	24, 240
3	Karnataka	21, 500
4
5	Gujarat	20, 460

During the year, in Tamil Nadu, the power sector had the highest share in the total investments completed, followed by the services sector.

Traditionally, Tamil Nadu has had the manufacturing sector, including automotive, dominate the investment completion lists. Investments in Gujarat and Karnataka were mainly driven by the manufacturing sector, while those in Maharashtra primarily were largely pertaining to the services sector.

Tamil Nadu was also the leading state in terms of investments completed in the power sector. In the past decade, the share of power sector in investments across the state never exceeded 16 per cent. It was only in FY13, that the power sector saw a spurt to record a share of nearly 34 per cent in total investments completed in the state. This share further rose to 42.5 per cent in FY14.

Tamil Nadu saw completion of 11 power projects worth Rs.11,230 crore in FY14. Over the past six years, there has been a consistent rise in investments in the power sector of Tamil Nadu, in line with a capacity addition of about 7,500 MW in the state since FY09. Of this, almost 3,500 MW was added in the last two years alone. During FY14, Tamil Nadu added a capacity of nearly 1,631 MW, of which 1,097 MW was in the thermal sector. NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Company Ltd completed the Rs.3,090 crore MW Vallur Phase II thermal power project in February 2014 entailing a capacity of 500 MW. Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd had commissioned the 600 MW Unit 1 of North Chennai Thermal Power Generating Unit project, worth Rs.5,800 crore in June 2013.

Alongwith the power sector, Tamil Nadu also topped the list of investment completions in the services sector. As many as 70 projects were completed in the services sector of Tamil Nadu, entailing investment to the tune of Rs.9,170 crore. Of these, 29 projects were in the transport sector, with an investment of Rs.3,740 crore. These were mainly road projects undertaken by the state government. This was followed by completion of investments worth Rs.3,290 crore in the storage and distribution sector.

Other key projects include the Hogenakkal Water Supply and Fluorosis Mitigation Project that was completed in May 2013. The Rs.1,930-crore project envisages supply of drinking water to the districts of Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri from the Cauvery river. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s Ennore Terminal Project, which was completed in March 2014, was another major project.

As per CMIE’s CapEx database, Tamil Nadu has investments worth Rs.91,620 crore scheduled for completion in FY15. Of these, nearly 48 per cent are from the power sector. The state is expected to again top the list with maximum investment completions of Rs.43,720 crore in the power sector. This includes Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd’s Kudankulam Atomic Power Project, entailing an investment of Rs.17,270 crore. Generation from the 1,000 MW Unit 1, which was synchronized in October 2013, is expected to begin early this fiscal. The second unit of 1,000 MW is expected to be commissioned by May 2014 and generation is likely to start by December 2014.