Kerala is set to earn rich dividends from ‘Emerging Kerala 2012; Global Connect,’ which had a slow beginning but a promising end. On Friday, the curtain came down on the mega event, Kerala’s dream run towards development, with the state government receiving proposals close to Rs 28,000 crore and signing of MoUs for over Rs 20,000 crore.
The three-day meet saw major deliberations on possible business proposals from various sectors, including tourism, shipping, infrastructure and logistics.
The meet, attended by about 260 foreign delegates, received proposals worth Rs 27,272 crore from various entrepreneurs.
According to official figures, there were a total of 413 proposals discussed in the B2B sessions and 142 proposals in the B2G sessions. The NRK sectors showed interest in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, waste management, health care, automobile and knowledge sectors. Seven major proposals are Kochi-centric.
A general disappointment within the state government functionaries over the Prime Minister not making any investment promises in the inaugural session did not last as the other Central Government proposals more than made up for this.
The Shipping Ministry, came up with a couple of initiatives for the state. Approval was given for the Rs 750-crore ship repair yard at Cochin Port Trust along with development of the Kochi campus of the Indian Maritime University. The Ministry has also selected the Vizhinjam light house and the Kadalur Point light house to be developed as tourist centres.
The icing on the cake was the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the state govt and the BPCL Kochi refinery for Rs 20,000-crore integrated refinery expansion project and petrochemical joint venture. The financial incentive is expected to have a significant bearing on the economic viability of the project, pointed out BPCL officials.
Other major initiatives include the Air Kerala project, the seaplanes proposed across the state and the tourism initiatives.