Real Estate Seen as Key Driver for Tamil Nadu’s $1 Trillion Economy Goal

Industry leaders at The Hindu Tamil Nadu Real Estate Summit 2025 felt that the State’s real estate sector will be vital to aid Tamil Nadu’s aspiration of attaining the status of a $1 trillion economy by the year 2030.

While at the session ‘Tamil Nadu @ $1 Trillion: Role of Real Estate in Urban Transformation’, Julian Francis, Senior Vice-President, Asset Management, and Head of Industrial and Logistics at RMZ, said that the decades of investment into education and infrastructure have placed Tamil Nadu for high growth. “People are coming to India for skill and scale, and Tamil Nadu’s local talent pool is globally competitive. The $1 trillion target is achievable,” he said.

W.S. Habib, President, CREDAI Tamil Nadu, noted that real estate contributes 7–8% to India’s GDP and is central to the State’s economic vision. “To reach the target, our cities must be more liveable and well-planned,” he stressed.

Jerry Kingsley, Head of Value and Risk Advisory, India, and City Capital Markets, Chennai JLL, highlighted that India’s commercial real estate sees annual demand of 75–80 million sq. ft., with Bengaluru leading at around 20 million sq. ft., followed by NCR at 15 million. Chennai, competing with Hyderabad and Pune, absorbed 8–9 million sq. ft. in the past two years and is set for similar demand in 2025. “The metro expansion is boosting the office segment, and Tamil Nadu’s strength is that it’s not dependent on a single sector,” he said.

C.G. Sathish, Deputy Managing Director, Casagrand, praised the State’s infrastructure push, calling it a key growth enabler. Sripriya Ganesan, Co-Founder, Studio Neon, urged mindful planning in transit-oriented development.

The summit, held in Chennai, was presented by Casagrand and co-presented by G Square. Swelect was the green energy partner, with SDAT and Tamil Nadu Champions Foundation as sports ecosystem partners. CREDAI Tamil Nadu, Lancor, and Namma Family Group supported the event, while MMA was the strategic partner. Puthiya Thalaimurai served as the TV partner, and The Federal as the digital partner.