KOCHI: Last week, Industries Minister P Rajeeve met Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal seeking the Union cabinet’s urgent approval for the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. At the meeting, Goyal assured of taking further steps after a review.
The National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) Board had approved Rs 3,815 crore for the project on December 14, 2022. However, one-and-a-half years on, the project continues to wait for the Union cabinet nod.
“The delay is a serious concern. Despite financial constraints, Kerala has already spent Rs 1,194 crore to acquire 1,152.23 acres of land for the flagship project. The state anticipates a favourable decision from the Centre,” Rajeeve had told reporters after the meeting in New Delhi.The state acquired land in the Pudussery and Kannambra areas of Palakkad within a record 10 months.
Rajeeve said the Global City project in Kochi, as an extension of the corridor, was approved on August 19, 2020. NICDIT was tasked with preparing its master plan and DPR. “Originally approved as GIFT City, the name was later changed to Global City, as Gujarat already has a project of the same name. The project’s scope remains the same. In January 2023, NICDIT advised the consultancy to temporarily halt the project, and there has been no further clarity since,” Rajeeve told reporters.