There will be a Little Japan in Chennai soon. With around 35 per cent of Japanese industries in India being located in Tamil Nadu, the state government intends to set up an exclusive corridor for Japanese industries at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore over the next five years.

A Japanese business consortium headed by Japan trade minister Mr Yukio Edano signed a pact with the state government on Tuesday to develop a 1,500-acre township along the Old Mahabalipuram Road.

The township, meant to house more than 40,000 people, will have industrial, commercial and residential elements with lifestyle amenities.

The proposed manufacturing zone within the area is expected to attract an investment of about `I5,000 crore providing employment to 40,000 people.

An MoU was signed between TN Industrial Guidance & Export Pro-motion Bureau and Japan External Trade Organisation along with Ascendas.

Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa said, “To address the specific needs of Japanese industries to improve infrastructure around Ennore Port, the highways department is undertaking a study to form a separate road called the Northern Port Access Road.”

Mr Edano meanwhile offered assistance of the Japan government to undertake a comprehensive study on the infrastructural requirements of the Chennai —Bengaluru industrial corridor.