Thiruvananthapuram: With the Union government deciding to extend the Chennai-Bengaluru industrial corridor to Kochi via Palakkad as part of NICDIT, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged all departments to speed up action related to the project.
The National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) had recently conveyed to the state government its decision to extend the corridor.
A high-level meeting was chaired by the Chief Minister, in which Chief Secretary Tom Jose, Industries Principal Secretary K Ilangovan, Revenue Principal Secretary V Venu and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Managing Director Sanjay Kaul were among those who participated.
About 1800 acres of land has to be acquired for the manufacturing cluster on the Thrissur-Palakkad area. The District Collectors of Palakkad and Thrissur are tasked with the land acquisition process.
The meeting also decided to identify appropriate land at Kochi for setting up industrial centres as part of the NICDIT.
Kerala had for long been pleading to include the state in the corridor and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had made a strong pitch for the same.
The setting up of the corridor would contribute to developing manufacturing industries in the region and transform the Kochi-Palakkad region into a major manufacturing hub of South India.
Two integrated manufacturing clusters (IMC) are to be developed-- at Palakkad and Salem in Tamil Nadu.
The cluster in Kerala will come up on either side of the Kochi-Salem national highway and is expected to provide 10,000 jobs.
Envisioned on the lines of special economic zones, the project will offer more benefits to entrepreneurs. Food processing to electronics The cluster will include food processing, electronic, IT and traditional manufacturing units. Logistics park, warehouse and cold storages can be expected.
The IMC’s proximity to Kochi harbour will produce opportunities outside Palakkad too, said Industries Principal Secretary Dr K Elankovan.
The project will be run by an SPV formed in collaboration with the state and Centre. The state’s share in the company will be the total price of land. It will be developed by the Centre, which will put in Rs 870 crore as its share.
(With inputs from PTI)