Emerging Kerala attracts massive investments
The Emerging Kerala summit came to an end on Friday with a call to facilitate the states emergence from within and the youth to take charge of development, while capturing 45 specific project proposals with an investment of over Rs 40,000 crore. Our government recognises that the youth of Kerala needs to emerge on the global stage, said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, presiding over the valedictory meet.
The Chief Minister said that the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the state would be given a fillip in the form of a Technology Innovation Zone in about 10 acres of land in Kochi, with an initial investment of Rs 100 crore. The 45 project proposals with an investment of over Rs 40,000 crore, including BPCLs Cochin Refinery expansion and the Joint Venture project of Rs 18,000 crore, Volkswagens engine assembly unit with an estimated cost of Rs 2,000 crore, hospital and pre-cast concrete structure manufacturing unit for an amount of Rs 570 crore and Solar Energy Plant of Rs 500 crore. CII has already announced the setting up of a Centre of Excellence in Entrepreneurship in Kerala.
Students graduating out of technology institutions have brilliant ideas, which need to be nourished and taken to their fullest potential. The socio-economic factors in Kerala provide enough foundation to the youth to transform. The government is committed to facilitate the environment for this transformation to an entrepreneurial mindset, Chandy stressed. The Start-up Village mentored and promoted by Kris Gopalakrishnan, Executive Chairman of Infosys, and started by a group of young technology entrepreneurs while in the Trivandrum Engineering College is one good example of this transformation, he said. The Chief Minister said that KINFRA would build one lakh sq.ft. in a period of 16 months for incubators and complete the first 25,000 sq.ft. by May, 2013. It will make the Startup Village the worlds largest Telecom Incubator, he hoped. The proposed innovation zone will also house more initiatives like the Startup Village on a PPP mode in other technology areas and verticals in Telecom, Data Analytics, Animation and Gaming, VLSI, Nanotechnology and Biotechnology.
Emerging Kerala attracts massive investments - South India - Kerala - ibnlive
Emerging Kerala gets over 500 investment plans
More than 500 fresh business proposals were on the table at Emerging Kerala global connect meet, which concluded here on Friday, but there was a flutter as Chief Minister Ommen Chandy announced a tally of Rs 40,000 crore worth of investment initiatives.
However, since most of them were ongoing projects that got mention during the meet, industry minister P.K. Kunhalikutty played down a government statement on the quantum.
Chandy clarified that expressions of interest made at the meet would be taken up by departments concerned and investors would be invited to make presentations in a month. A final decision would be taken in three months.
He said that there were 413 proposals at the business-to-business sessions and 142 at business-to-government sessions. The seaplane project received 58 proposals. Port-based, food processing, tourism and waste management proposals were also in high demand.
Asked how many proposals out of around Rs 40,000 crore were ongoing projects, Kunhalikutty said the statement detailing the projects is disowned.
The meet was not for signing MoUs, proposals were mere expressions of interest, Chandy added, saying that no land was being sold for any project as alleged by the Opposition.
The government would initiate steps to take over land given to industries and not being put to use. Asked what the extent of this land was, he said it was around just 350 acre.
Emerging Kerala gets over 500 investment plans | Deccan Chronicle
A cooldown in our growth rates is absolutely necessary.
