The ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government on Thursday announced plans to establish an Olympic-standard integrated sports city in Chennai to help Tamil Nadu produce more medal-winning athletes, along with a new ₹ 1,200-crore Secretariat complex featuring a modern Assembly and administrative offices.
Chief minister C Joseph Vijay, making a slew of ‘suo motu’ announcements in the Assembly, said the Tamil Nadu Olympic City would be established in Chennai on behalf of the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT).
The Tamil Nadu government-backed SDAT is the official sports body and its vision is to promote sports and physical fitness throughout the state, utilising resources drawn from the government, sports associations and others. “This Olympic City will be developed as an integrated sports complex of Olympic standards. “The new Secretariat building will bring together and integrate all government departments into a single administrative campus.
On the proposal to establish a new Secretariat, Vijay said the existing Fort St George was built in 1640 on land purchased by the East India Company for commercial operations, and construction was completed in 1644. On the decision to set up a new Secretariat, Vijay said though the existing structure at Fort St George is spread across 107 acres, only four acres of land was under the control of the Tamil Nadu government for the Secretariat’s use. Earlier reporting noted: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay announced the projects in the state Assembly on Thursday under Rule 110. In June, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports formed a task force to monitor motorsports in the country, with a vision of bringing Formula 1 back to India by 2028.
Because the existing infrastructure remains largely unchanged, it has reached a point of stagnation, over the past 40 years, the chief minister said, the number of employees working in government departments has increased significantly and,.
It will feature modern infrastructure including world-class sports arenas, state-of-the-art sports equipment, high performance training centre, sports medicine centres,” Vijay said, amid thumping of desks by his cabinet colleagues. A modern administrative complex will be created adhering to fire safety features, accessibility for persons with disabilities and green building standards,” he said. Earlier reporting noted: Earlier this year, FMSCI president Arindam Ghosh said discussions with the Union sports ministry and potential stakeholders had focused on bringing F1, MotoGP and WRC to India, along with developing Indian drivers and strengthening the country’s motorsports ecosystem.
Earlier reporting noted: The announcement comes amid renewed efforts to bring major international motorsport events back to India.
