The Hindu Business Line : Kerala, UAE to set up joint working group

Thiruvananthapuram May 15 The Governments of Kerala and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will set up a joint working group to identify projects in the State in which investments from the UAE could be crystallised.

The idea for the working group emerged during the visit of the Industries Minister, Mr Elamaram Kareem, to the UAE recently. He had held discussions with the Minister of State for Finance and Industry, Dr Muhammed K. Khirbash, and officials of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority on the possibilities of attracting investments to Kerala. Mr Kareem said here on Tuesday that the UAE had expressed interest in making investments in petrochemical and power projects in the State.

Similarly, the Emirates Investment Board, a major financial and investment institution in the UAE, is interested in commercial and tourism ventures in Kerala. The State Government would inform the board of the possible areas for investment, on the basis of which follow-up steps would be initiated, the Minister said.

In Oman, Mr Kareem had met the Minister for Industry and Commerce, Mr Maqbool Ali Sultan. Some of the companies in Oman had shown interest in petrochemicals, oil refinery, ports and ship-building projects in the State, he said.

On the public sector enterprises under the Industries Department, the Minister said that last year the stress was on revival of loss-making units and as a result of the Government's efforts, 22 units posted profits. The target for the current year is to make 30 units profitable.

In the current year, the focus will be on expansion and modernisation and the units identified are Malabar Cements, Travancore Cochin Chemicals, Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation (Keltron), Steel and Industrial Forgings Ltd and Kerala State Textile Corporation.

At Malabar Cements, the production capacity will be enhanced to eight lakh tonnes from the existing six lakh tonnes. In the case of Keltron, an external agency will be appointed to work out the modernisation programme, while the Government has decided to take up a Rs. 22-crore expansion project for the mills under the Textile Corporation.

The Minister also said that plans had been chalked out for enterprises that had been lying closed.

A proposal has been made by Small Industries Development Corporation for converting the land belonging to Kerala State Salicylates and Chemicals Ltd into a telecom city.

The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation has approached the Government with a proposal for establishing an IT park in the land occupied by Astral Watches Ltd.

Yet another proposal is for establishing an engineering college in the cooperative sector at the site of Scooters Kerala Ltd.

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