Chennai, Apr 5 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin today laid the foundation stone for a footwear manufacturing facility at Villuppuram involving an investment of Rs 500 crore. The facility was being established at S9pcot Industrial Park at Pelakuppam by Cheyyar SEZ Developers Private limited, a subsidiary of Lotus Footwear Enterprises Limited in a 167.41 acre area. This facility will provide jobs to 6,000 people, an official release said. It said in 2006 the then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and the Company’s India Head Peter Nicholson signed a MoU for setting up a SEZ at a cost of Rs 300 crore and it was inaugurated in 2009 by Stalin, who was the then Deputy Chief Minister. It offered jobs for 5,000 people. Subsequently the company opened its second SEZ at Bargur in Krishnagiri district in 2015 at a cost of Rs 360 crore and provided jobs for 10,000 people. After the DMK government returned to power last year, the company signed a MoU in the presence of the Chief Minister on July 20, 2021 at the Tamil Nadu Investors Conclave for setting up its facility at a cost of Rs 1,060 crore and offering direct jobs to 13,000 people. In line with the agreement, the company set up its third SEX at Pelakuppam Panchayat in Villuppuram district today. MORE GV 1442