KOCHI: The proposed Global Industrial Finance and Trade (GIFT) City, slated to come up on 220 hectares at Ayyampuzha near Aluva, will not have any manufacturing unit. For the government has decided to conserve environment to the maximum extent possible.The authorities believe the decision will dispel apprehension among people residing in the area. The social impact assessment (SIA) for the project is under way.
“SIA has started and we will look into all kinds of impacts. We are committed to ensuring there will be no polluting industry in the GIFT City. That means no manufacturing industry will be included in the plan,” Alkesh Kumar Sharma, additional chief secretary, industries, told TNIE.He is heading the special projects in Kerala too.
The GIFT City is planned as an early bird project under the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (KBIC). The master plan for the project is expected to be completed in the coming weeks. The CH2M HILL International Ltd (Jacobs Engineering Group) — the master planning agency — is preparing a detailed plan for the ambitious project expected to create over 1.2 lakh direct and 3.6 lakh indirect employment opportunities, thereby giving a major boost to the state’s economic growth.
“We are mainly planning knowledge-based and banking institutions in the GIFT City. The details will be finalised while preparing the master plan,” Sharma said. The project is expected to bring in investment for the development of trunk infrastructure to the tune of `1,600 crore, thereby building public-private-partnership (PPP) infrastructure worth `18,000 crore in 10 years.“Based on discussions with the local people, we have excluded those areas which are inhabited. The objective is not to displace people for this project, but acquire uninhabited land,” he said.
Kochi-Bengaluru industrial corridor to aid agri sector Regarding the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, Sharma said the land acquisition is progressing for the proposed infrastructure development projects set to come up in Palakkad. “The plan is to acquire 1,870 acres in Palakkad. We have already taken possession of 650 acres. On the stretch, we will have industrial units, strictly adhering to environmental norms.
The Palakkad project will also provide a thrust to the agriculture sector. In the district, we grow a lot of rice and vegetables. Hence, there is scope for agro-processing units. We are also looking at defence and aerospace industries in the corridor,” he said. Industrial units in places like Salem and Coimbatore too are set to be included in the corridor plan, Sharma said. The industrial corridor will be extended up to Mangaluru in Phase II. “We can expect projects in the Malabar area too,” he said.
Development of trunk infrastructure
The project is expected to bring in investment for the development of trunk infrastructure to the tune of H1,600 crore, thereby building PPP infrastructure worth Rs 18,000 crore in 10 years
The ambitious project is expected to create over 1.2 lakh direct and 3.6 lakh indirect employment opportunities