CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin inaugurated the state-of-the-art Industrial Housing Facility for women employees of Apple contract manufacturer Foxconn at the SIPCOT Industrial Park Vallam Vadagal in Kanchipuram district on Saturday.

Built at a cost of Rs 706.50 crore, the facility is spread over 20 acres and can accommodate 18,720 workers in 13 blocks, each with 10 floors and is the first of its kind in India and represents a major milestone in the state’s industrial development.

The housing complex comes equipped with a wide array of modern amenities, ensuring comfort and security for workers. It has both indoor games and outdoor play areas, including courts for various sports, solar water heaters for all 13 blocks and a 1 MW rooftop solar power plant to provide eco-friendly energy, sanitary napkin incinerators, mosquito nets in all rooms, and an RO plant for each block to ensure clean drinking water.

As far as security is concerned 1,170 CCTV cameras will monitor the 13 blocks and perimeter, ensuring round-the-clock security for residents, dedicated kitchen building and a dining facility capable of seating 4,000 workers across two floors. The mega project also includes rainwater harvesting, sewage treatment, solid waste management, and landscaping to ensure a green and sustainable environment.

Speaking at the event, CM Stalin said out of 41,000 workers of Foxconn, 35,000 are women. Noting that the state has the highest number of women factory workers in the country at 42%, he said the state is implementing various schemes for their development.  talin also announced that SIPCOT would open its own creches at the industrial parks to enable working women. As many as 63 creches are already operational at SIPCOT. 

Foxconn chairman Dr Young Liu said the company's largest footprint in the country is in Tamil Nadu. He added that state’s economic blueprint is attractive for technology investment. 

Dr Young Liu said, “Foxconn hires regardless of gender, and women make up a big part of our workforce here. I would emphasise that married women greatly contribute to the efforts of what we are doing here.” 

Also speaking at the event, state industries minister T R B Raaja said gender equality is a very important goal of this government and called the facility first-of-its-kind in the country.