The State government has managed to acquire 70% of the land required for the Kochi-Bengaluru industrial corridor project within a 10-month period, Minister for Industries P. Rajeeve has said.
The government had identified a total 2,220 acres for acquisition, he told a press conference on Thursday held in connection with the activities undertaken by the department during the past one year.
This project was expected to generate over one lakh jobs, he said. The Industries department hoped to have 14 private industrial parks operational in the State this year, the Minister said.
The government also received 14 applications from groups including trusts and small-industry organisations. Private industrial parks were announced in the State Budget for creating job opportunities.
During the past year, the department focussed on the creation of an investor-friendly ecosystem in the State, Mr. Rajeeve said. It was able to attract investments to the tune of ₹4,071 crore with the potential to generate 82,358 jobs. This included investments to the tune of ₹895 crore by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), ₹1,600 crore by Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA), and ₹1,576 crore in the MSME sector.
In addition to this, investments to the tune of ₹6,480 crore were guaranteed during the past year through the ‘Meet the Investor’ programme, he said.
Further, the department had taken steps to make public sector units profitable and competitive, he said. The 2022-23 fiscal was being observed as the ‘Year of Entrepreneurship’ by the State government. The programme envisioned the creation of four lakh job opportunities, he added.
