The board and executive committee meetings of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) have approved 17 projects worth ₹1,076.92 crore. This takes the total number of projects with KIIFB nod to 912, valued at ₹64,344.64 crore.
The 42nd board meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday cleared 10 projects worth ₹932.69 crore. The executive committee of the body corporate had given the nod for seven projects worth ₹144.23 crore on Friday.
Briefing the media on the board decisions, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal said the major projects approved on Saturday included the creation of 10-bed isolation wards in hospitals in the 140 constituencies (₹236.3 crore) for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, and the renovation of damaged sea wall and construction of a groyne field at coastal erosion-hit Chellanam (₹344.2 crore).
The list included the ₹247.2-crore rehabilitation and resettlement parcel for the West Coast Canal project, modernisation of 26 fish markets in four projects (₹57.07 crore), modernisation of three markets in Aluva and Nedumangad municipalities (₹33.5 crore), and the renovation of a multi-species abattoir at Kaloor (₹14.29 crore).
The seven projects approved by the KIIFB executive committee include construction of rail overbridges in Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur, improvement of infrastructure in schools, and construction of a regulator-cum-bridge at Ummenchira in Kannur district.
These projects were included as a careful scrutiny had revealed that some more projects could be loaded on to the KIIFB, Mr. Balagopal said. Earlier, the Finance Minister had expressed doubts regarding additions as the KIIFB had already overshot its target of projects worth ₹50,000 crore.
In addition to this, Saturday's meeting sanctioned an additional ₹1,395.01 crore for acquiring land in three stretches for National Highway development. With this, the approval under this component has risen to ₹6,769.01 crore.
Of the total approvals worth ₹64,344.64 crore, ₹44,344.64 crore accounts for infrastructure development initiatives under various government departments, and ₹20,000 crore for land acquisition.
Tendering for projects worth ₹23,845.14 crore has been completed, while work has been kicked off on projects worth ₹21,176.35 crore. Work has been completed on 201 projects/project components worth ₹2,956.14 crore, Mr. Balagopal said.
Projects under public works account for a major chunk of the KIIFB-approved works; ₹6,771.04 crore. This is followed by industries (₹1,840.54 crore), general education (₹1,282.25 crore) and water resources projects (₹1,064.04 crore).
