Chennai floods: Industries crippled, suffer huge revenue loss

Over 165 BSE-listed companies worth over Rs 285,000 crore that run operations in Chennai have been hit. But what remains a challenge for the government is holding on to Rs 2.42 lakh crore investment it attracted during the investors’ meet in September.

Industry sources said that major players including Hyundai, Ford, BMW, Nissan, TVS, Renault-Nissan and Ashok Leyland were forced to shut production during the rain. The Ashok Leyland plant at Ennore, which accounts for about 40 per cent of the company’s production, two plants of Hyundai Motor India Ltd’s facility in Sriperumbudur producing 680,000 units, Ford India’s facility with an annual capacity of 3.4 lakh engines and 2 lakh vehicles, and a BMW plant were among those impacted. With loss in sales of nearly 15,000 units, TVS Motor Company was another firm that took a massive hit.

An Assocham study on the third day of the flood made a rough estimate of Rs 15,000 crore loss for the industries.

S Saravanan, a leading consultant with trade bodies, said major roads connecting industrial corridors were damaged making recovery a tedious process. “In many parts, we can see that roads that have caved will need major repair for transportation of trucks and industry vehicles to resume. IT sector also suffered huge losses. Many companies reported shortage of staff as most of their employees are still stuck in inundated areas,” he said.