The Ambattur Industrial Estate, spread over an area of 1,430 acres, houses about 1,800 units and is the biggest small scale industrial estate in South Asia. It was commissioned in the year 1964 by the Government of Tamil Nadu. Several factors such as suitability of the soil, communication facilities, availability of raw materials, a large volume of ground water suitable for industrial and domestic purposes, and the like were responsible for seeking this place for the setting up of an industrial estate. An area of 4 km² adjoining the industrial estate was acquired by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board for housing purposes. Companies like Britannia, TI Cycles of India, Dunlop, and TVS have their plants in Ambattur. VSNL-Tata Communication has its satellite earth station at the Ambattur–Red Hills road, known as wireless among the locals. Jaya TV, Vijay TV, Asianet and Kairali relay signals from this facility. Textile industries such as Ambattur Clothing Limited and Bombay Fashions have their facilities here and employ thousands of women. The units in the Industrial Estate generate a combined annual revenue of over 35,000 million.
Waste disposal
As of September 2014, the Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers Association was setting up a transit yard to segregate and dispose about 300 tonnes of waste generated every month. The yard, covering an area of 2,000 sq ft, will be used to segregate garbage from neighbouring residential areas, in addition to hazardous industrial waste. The industrial estate was also planning to set up a common effluent treatment plant with a capacity to treat 200 kilolitres per day at a cost of 50 million. The plant will be constructed in public-private partnership mode and will become functional by the end of financial year 2014. It is estimated that only about 10 percent of the units discharge effluents. The industrial estate also plans to cover industrial units in a radius of 25 km, such as those in Thirumudivakkam and Thirumazhisai. The treated water will be provided to dyeing units in the estate.
As part of the golden jubilee celebrations in 2014, the AIEMA association plans to construct a golden jubilee tower. It has planted more than 1,500 saplings and has planned to implement solar and power-saving lamps for street illumination.
Connectivity
The Industrial Estate has a bus terminus. The Ambattur Estate terminus and the maintenance centre with a capacity of 100 buses were opened in 1967. However, as of 2012, the centre handles 125 buses per day, with a staff count of 1,100.
