Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay makes announcements in the Assembly on Thursday
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Thursday (September 3, 2026) announced a proposal to establish a world-class Motor Sports City in the State and an Olympic City in Chennai.
The Motor Sports City will be established to promote sports tourism, encourage the growing interest in motorsports among the youth of Tamil Nadu, provide them with the necessary training, and develop the State into a major international hub for motorsports.
Making a suo motu statement in the Assembly, Mr. Vijay said the proposed Motor Sports City would have an international-standard motorsports racing circuit, along with modern infrastructure and training facilities. Infrastructure would also be created to host international-standard competitions such as Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3, and Formula 4.
The Chief Minister did not specify the exact location where the facility would be set up.
He noted Tamil Nadu is a leading State in the manufacture of two-wheelers and four-wheelers. Several automobile manufacturers consider Tamil Nadu a preferred destination for setting up their new vehicle manufacturing units. The State is also a leader in the manufacture of motorsports vehicles. Many of these motorsports manufacturing units are operating in Coimbatore.
The Madras International Circuit at Irungattukottai near Chennai and the KARI Motor Speedway in Coimbatore are major infrastructure facilities for motor racing. National-level F3 and F4 car racing competitions are held at these racing circuits, and Tamil Nadu is currently a leading State in motor racing, Mr. Vijay said.
Olympic city
Besides, a world-class Tamil Nadu Olympic City would be established in Chennai by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), with the objective of enabling sportspersons from Tamil Nadu to win medals at the Olympic Games and other international sporting events.
The Olympic City would be developed as an integrated sports complex of Olympic standards. It would have world-class sporting arenas, state-of-the-art sports equipment, a high-performance training centre, accommodation facilities for sportspersons and coaches, and other modern infrastructure facilities. The complex would host national and international sporting competitions and develop talented sportspersons capable of winning Olympic medals, he added.
Published – September 03, 2026 02:32 pm IST
