Date:28/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/28/stories/2008052860230500.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Karim: Rs.10,000-crore investment in State soon

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Industries Minister Elamaram Karim has said that major projects entailing private investment of nearly Rs.10,000 crore were in the pipeline in Kerala.

At a press conference here on Tuesday, he said the ‘High-Tec City’ planned by the Shobha Group in Kochi would mean an investment of Rs.5,000 crore. The government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the promoters of this project, which was expected to provide direct employment to 75,000 people.

Another major project on the cards was an ‘Integrated Industrial Township’ at Kinalur in Kozhikode district, creating 25,000 direct jobs. The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation had signed an agreement for this with the Industry Development Board of Malaysia. The township would house private firms from India and Malaysia, he said.

Talks were in the final stage for an industrial township at Mavoor in Kozhikode district. The proposal was from Grasim, Mr. Karim said.

Russian company Roseboron and the State public sector company Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd. were in the process of setting up a titanium sponge manufacturing unit at Chavara in Kollam district. A memorandum of understanding had been signed.

He said Infrastructures Kerala (InKEL), a company set up by the government with private participation, had sold all its shares. Launched with an initial paid-up capital of Rs.100 crore, the company would promote, set up, operate, maintain, sell and deal with infrastructure. InKEL was expected to give a new impetus to industrial development, Mr. Karim said.

Since its inception in 1994, the Kerala Infrastructure Development Corporation, the State public sector agency for creating infrastructure for industries, had acquired 2,411 acres of land for its various industrial parks. This government, during its five-year term, would acquire at least 3,000 acres more, he said.

Mr. Karim said the Left Democratic Front government had succeeded in changing the fortunes of many loss-making public sector units. The number of profit making units had gone up from 13 to 27. In the last year of the previous government, the PSUs had run up a net loss of more than Rs.90 crore.