The sprawling campus of Kongu Engineering College at Perundurai, about 85 km from Coimbatore city, will soon be home to a 40 lakh sq. ft. research park called ‘Arivukoodam’.The Kongu Vellalar Institute of Technology Trust, which runs six higher education institutions and a school at Perundurai, will develop the park at ₹100 crore. Vice-President of India C.P. Radhakrishnan will lay the foundation stone for the park on August 29.C. Devarajan, president of the Trust, told The Hindu on Wednesday (August 26) that the park will be developed on the lines of the research park at IIT Madras. It will house the Technology Incubation Centre currently operational at the Kongu Engineering College, a tinkering lab, centres of excellence for various streams of engineering, and industrial research centres. Nearly ₹35 crore of the total investment will go towards purchasing the modern equipment to be used for research.“We did a survey of over 100 industries of various sectors in the western districts of Tamil Nadu and got responses from more than 80. Based on their demands, we have decided to focus on five verticals at the research park, including 5G, electrification, and mobility. There will also be tie-ups with 10 industries, from Roots and Lotte India to Danfoss, who will have their satellite research and development centres at the Park,” he said.Arivukoodam is expected to be operational by the end of next year or early 2028.The aim of this project is to promote industry-driven research and development, bring deep tech solutions to the industries in the western districts, attract technology research experts to this region, and give students and faculty members real-time exposure to challenges of the industries in various sectors, Mr. Devarajan said.“This is the actual industry-institute interaction that we have been advocating in various forums,” he added. Published - August 26, 2026 08:19 pm IST