Chennai, Sep 12 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu government has signed an MoU with American construction and engineering equipment manufacturing company Caterpillar to expand its operations in the state, an official statement said on Thursday.

The company will invest an amount of Rs 500 crore for expanding the operations of the company in Krishnagiri and Tiruvallur districts, the state government statement said, adding that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in Chicago on Wednesday (Thursday morning IST).

Stalin, in a post on his X handle, said: "The longstanding association between Caterpillar and Tamil Nadu has been further strengthened by new investments! We’ve exchanged an MoU with Caterpillar to expand their construction equipment manufacturing facilities. A big thanks to Caterpillar for investing further in Thiruvallur and Krishnagiri districts, further strengthening our partnership!"

Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce T.R.B. Rajaa, Caterpillar Inc. Director Bhuvan Anandakrishnan, and Senior Vice President Greg Hepler were among those present when the MoU was signed and exchanged, the statement said.

The statement also said that as of September 11, the Tamil Nadu government has signed and exchanged a total of 16 MoUs for investment proposals to the tune of over Rs 7,500 crore to the state during Stalin’s ongoing visit to the US.

Stalin is on a two-week investment garnering tour of the US from August 27 onwards. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister visited the headquarters of Google, Apple, and Microsoft and entered into MoUs with these tech giants for investments in Tamil Nadu. He is expected to leave the US on September 14.

Since assuming office in May 2021, he has visited the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan and Spain to get investments for his state.