The Hindu Business Line : Rs 5,000-cr hi-tech city mooted in Kochi

The proposed hi-tech city will provide space for industries and sectors ranging from electronics, information technology and biotechnology to education, entertainment and research and development.

Thiruvananthapuram , Aug 2

The Bangalore-based Shobha group has put up a proposal before the Kerala Government for establishing a Rs 5,000-crore hi-tech city near the Cochin International Airport.

The Industry Minister, Mr Elamaram Kareem, said the proposal had come as a shot in the arm for the Government, which had initiated steps to form a public limited company to take care of infrastructure development in the State.

The proposed hi-tech city will be spread over 300-400 acres of land, which will be acquired by the Shobha group on its own. The State Government will only be a facilitator of the project.

Space for all

Mr Kareem said here on Wednesday that the hi-tech city would provide space for industries and sectors ranging from electronics, information technology and biotechnology to education, entertainment and research and development. The city would be connected to the main road by a 33-metre wide road. The project has been conceived in such a way that it will be totally eco-friendly. The water requirement will be met through methods like rainwater harvesting. There is also a plan for captive power generation.

First of its kind

Proposed to be completed within the next seven-eight years, the city would provide direct employment to 54,000 people. If materialised, the project would be the first of its kind in the country, the Minister said.

He said the infrastructure development company being formed by the Government had received good response from industrialists and others at a meeting convened by the Industries Department in Kochi on July 29. The company would be registered by September or October this year.

Government agencies such as Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) will have 26 per cent stake in the company, which will have an initial equity capital of Rs 200 crore. The public will hold the rest of the equity.

On the sick public sector undertakings under the Industries Department, the Minister said a committee had been entrusted with the task of preparing a list of the units that could be revived on a priority basis.

The State budget for the current year had made an allocation of Rs 60 crore for the purpose and the list of the companies that would be taken up for revival during the year would be prepared within the next two or three days.

Revival plans

The Government had already initiated measures for revival of Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd and the other units for which proposals were being worked out included Keltron Counters Ltd and Kerala State Salicylates and Chemicals Ltd, the Minister said.

On the controversy over granting licence to a joint venture company for mineral sand mining, Mr Kareem said that the previous government had sought permission for it from the Centre in accordance with its industrial policy. The present Government had nothing to do with it, he added.

He pointed out that the stated position of the Left Democratic Front was that mineral sand mining should only be in the public sector. In the light of this, the Government would take a decision soon on making the necessary changes in the industrial policy.

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