The Hindu : Front Page : Keltec will get Rs. 25 crore: Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 30, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Keltec will get Rs. 25 crore: Minister

Special Correspondent

The project will provide direct employment to 2,000 persons

Law Minister M. Vijayakumar.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Hitech Industries (Keltec) will receive an investment of Rs.25 crore for developing missile components soon after its takeover by BrahMos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint venture promoted by the Defence Ministry, on Monday.

At a press conference here on Saturday, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Vijayakumar, patron of the reception committee set up for the transfer of Keltec; the company’s Managing Director, G.M. Nair; and K. Sivankutty, MLA and general convener of the committee, said the takeover would have a massive industrial spin-off in the State capital.

Mr. Nair said BrahMos would make an investment of Rs.100 crore for the missile integration facility that would come up in three years during the first phase. The second phase would witness an investment of Rs.1,400 crore to set up common head, assembly and integration and war-heading filling, thereby rolling out an entire missile.

In reply to a question, he said the first phase would witness only minor activities, such as integration and common-head filling.

Keltec would hand over 9.2 hectares of land. BrahMos would require 80 hectares of land to set up a full-fledged missile unit. The project, once fully commissioned, would provide direct employment to 2,000 people and indirect employment to another 2,500. He narrated the long-drawn efforts of the State government to get the Defence Ministry to take over Keltec. He referred to the services of A.K. Antony, who had submitted the takeover proposal to the then Union Minister of State O. Rajagopal as Chief Minister and now completed the process as Defence Minister.

Space institute

With regard to the land for the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, the Minister said the issue was now closed. The government had offered to make available 70 acres of land adjacent to the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Valiyamala, in addition to another 20 acres at Ponmudi Sanatorium. ISRO had accepted the proposal and the government would acquire the land at Valiyamala, as it did not own any there.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page