Cabinet approves land to HLL Lifecare to set up Medipark in Chennai

HLL Lifecare Ltd, a Miniratna public sector firm, has received approval from the Union Cabinet to sub-lease 330.10 acres of land at Chengalpattu, in the outskirts of Chennai, to set up a medical devices manufacturing park (Medipark) through a special purpose vehicle.  HLL Lifecare will have a 50 per cent shareholding in the project. The Medipark would be the first manufacturing cluster in the

medical technology sector in the country, and would play a role in the development of medical devices and technology industry and allied disciplines.  The government, in its Make in India campaign has emphasised on development of the sector, which is currently in a nascent stage in the country.

The government has announced that the Medipark will be completed over a period of seven years, developed in various phases.

In the first phase, physical infrastructure will be developed and plots will be leased from third year onwards. A knowledge management centre will be developed in the second phase, with grants and assistance from departments, which funds similar initiatives.

HLL will sublease the land to investors, through a bidding process to investors to set up manufacturing units for Medical equipment and devices. 

In the initial phase, the land cost to the qualifying entrepreneurs from Medical Device and Equipment, Manufacturing Industry will be at a subsidised rate, in order to attract others and the rate will go up gradually as the demand picks up, it said.

The project will reduce the dependence on imports and create a strong base for the growth of indigenous and domestic industry by providing access to state of art infrastructure and technology. 

The domestic manufacturing of medical devices and equipment is envisaged to help making healthcare delivery affordable and also increase the penetration of quality healthcare services, said a government press release.

HLL Lifecare, through a subsidiary, is also setting up an Integrated Vaccine Complex in Chengalpattu, in order to manufacture various vaccines for the domestic and international patients. 

The construction works of the facility has already been completed and is expected to go through various approval process and pilot production, before starting the commercial operations, according to company sources.