The State government on Thursday signed the Share Holders and State Support Agreements with the National Industrial Corridor Development & Implementation Trust (NICDIT), a Government of India designated agency, for the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.
The agreements were signed in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The State Support Agreement (SSA) was signed by K. Sanjay Murthy, Chief Executive Officer of the NICDIT, and Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary, Special Projects (Infrastructure & Industries) in charge of the Industrial Corridor projects in the State. The Share Holders Agreement (SHA) was signed by Santhosh Koshy Thomas, MD, Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra), and Mr. Murthy. Kinfra is the nodal agency of the State for implementing the project.
SPV to be formed
A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed for the detailed planning, design, implementation, operation and management of the projects. There will be equal number of representatives of the State government and the NICDIT on the board of the company, which will be a 50:50 equity participation joint venture.
The Kochi-Palakkad stretch of the corridor is in the first phase of its integration. The regions in Malabar will also be linked to the corridor in due course.
Manufacturing clusters
Integrated Manufacturing Clusters (IMCs) are planned along the corridor to boost manufacturing activities, including electronics, IT, biotechnology, and life sciences, in the districts of Palakkad, Thrissur and Ernakulam in Phase I, and the districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Kasaragod in Phase II. These require less land and are less sensitive to prices. This will also ensure higher value addition in jobs generated in the corridor region.
Mr. Murthy appreciated the support of the State government in expediting land acquisition and project development activities. “This is one of the fastest developing projects in India and I would like to thank State government for appointing senior officials in its development and implementation,” he said.
The NICDIT will provide support up to ₹3,000 crore as equity for the project and will also assist in master planning, design, engineering, EIA & environment clearance and in marketing the project to potential investors in India and abroad.
“The project is expected to attract investments in basic infrastructure development, electronic hardware manufacturing, knowledge-based industries, defence & aerospace engineering, information technology, food processing and port-based logistics development. This is a significant step towards the overall development of the State,” said Mr. Sharma.
