MUMBAI: Realty developer DLF , backed by Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC, is planning to invest Rs 5,000 crore to develop a 6.8 million sq ft information technology park in Chennai , making the south India city its second largest market after Gurugram.The project, DLF Downtown Taramani spread over 27 acre is a joint venture with Tamilnadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). The proposed development along with DLF’s existing 7 million sq ft IT park at Manapakkam will take the company’s commercial portfolio in Chennai to nearly 14 million sq ft.Currently, India’s largest realty developer’s office portfolio has 32 million sq ft commercial, IT, Special Economic Zone (SEZ) across Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chandigarh with another 20 million sq ft commercial space under development and implementation in Chennai, Hyderabad and Gurugram.DLF has been present in Chennai for the last 15 years with DLF Cybercity Chennai in Manapakkam, being the largest IT SEZ in Tamil Nadu.“Tamil Nadu has always been a destination of choice for corporates and MNCs due to its talent pool and favourable business environment. We are investing Rs.5,000 crores in phases for developing our fourth project - DLF Downtown, Taramani in Chennai,” said Mohit Gujral, Chief Executive Officer, DLF.The company will start construction of 2.5 million sq ft of built up area in the first phase and is expected to finish the same by mid-2021. The entire development is expected to be completed in 6 years. The new project is expected to add additional 70,000 direct and 6,000 ancillary employment opportunities once operational.Apart from Chennai, the company is looking to expand its commercial portfolio in other cities too.“We have identified a development pipeline of 20 million sq ft across India and construction of 5.5 million sq ft is underway. This will augment our existing 32 million sq ft rental portfolio and we plan to take the national portfolio to over 50 million sq ft once new projects are completed,” said Sriram Khattar, MD, Rental Business - DLF.The company is also developing 11 million sq ft DLF Downtown project in Gurgaon under DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL), which is a joint venture between DLF and GIC. Promoters of DLF have sold their 33.34% stake in this rental arm DCCDL to GIC for nearly Rs 9,000 crore. The transaction was concluded in December 2017, and the company now holds the balance 66.66% in DCCDL.According to Khattar, the company’s current annual rental revenue from DLF Cybercity Chennai is around Rs 500 crore, and with the completion of phase I of DLF Downtown, its rental income from Chennai will be a substantial amount.”He, however, added that the company is not looking at listing its rental portfolio undera Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) at least for the next 18-24 months.