Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the government has appointed bureaucrat K. Biju as its point man to assist Nissan Motor Corporation fast track its endeavour to start a global research hub in Thiruvananthapuram.
Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, he said such global initiatives in the State's IT hub would drive investment in infrastructure and hospitality industry.
Nissan's arrival has spurred the development of entertainment hubs, hotels, state-of-the-art multi-speciality hospitals, modern sewage and garbage treatment plants and apartment complexes in the locality. The government has set up a task force to expedite the process.
The government has waived the stamp and registration duty for Nissan's present facility in Technopark. It has allocated more space to the Corporation at KINFRA park.
He said Nissan had demanded a direct air link between Tokyo and Thiruvananthapuram. It wanted better air connectivity between the capital and other cities in the country.
Mr. Vijayan said he had assured Nissan officials that he would broach the matter with the Union Civil Aviation Ministry once the Parliament concluded its monsoon session.
The government would hold talks with the Secretary of Civil Aviation, in the presence of Nissan officials, in Thiruvananthapuram shortly. The company was convinced of the State's earnestness to get the project on track at the earliest.
Mr. Vijayan slammed the media for "spreading canards" that Nissan had threatened to back out of its MoU with the government to set up its research hub in the capital. He said journalists should introspect on the damage such "fake news" could do to the developmental aspirations of the people.
He announced an intense drive to clear all pending files at the Secretariat in three months. The Cabinet would monitor the process, and he has tasked Ministers to intervene wherever necessary.
