Tamil Nadu Cabinet Clears Industrial Projects Worth Rs 35000 Crore; Major Investment In Green Hydrogen By Malaysia's Petronas

Projects worth Rs 35,000 crore were approved during the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister MK Stalin on 2 May.

Among the major investments approved are the ones by Malaysia's Petronas, Switzerland's XyloNetics and Caterpillar Inc of the USA.

Petronas plans to invest Rs 34,000 crore in Thoothukudi to produce green hydrogen, while XyloNetics, a Swiss company that specializes in manufacturing woodwork used in furniture, will invest around Rs 700 crore. XyloNetics will set up operations at the International Furniture Park located in the SIPCOT estate at Thoothukudi.

The Cabinet also approved a company's proposal for an electric vehicle unit near Chennai with an investment of ₹70 crore.

The proposals of existing players, like Caterpillar Inc., were approved. Caterpillar intends to invest Rs 400 crore to expand its construction equipment manufacturing unit in Tiruvallur district.

Petronas' investment would be the second major investment for a green hydrogen project in the state. In July 2022, the Acme Group based in Haryana had announced a Rs 52,474 crore investment, also in Thoothukudi.