Centre Releases Rs 300 Crore For Palakkad Industrial Smart City, Kerala Becomes First State To Finalise Infra Tenders

The Central government has released the third instalment of Rs 300.2 crore for the Palakkad Industrial Smart City Project, a flagship node of the Kochi–Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.

The fresh allocation has been made to the Kerala Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Ltd. (KICDC), even as the State government transferred another 316 acres of land for the project, IANS reported.

With this, the total central assistance now stands at Rs 613.7 crore, while Kerala has cumulatively handed over 646 acres of land. Together, these contributions cover nearly 45 per cent of the overall project cost and land requirement.

The KICDC, a Special Purpose Vehicle jointly established by Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) and the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT), is steering the project with equal equity participation.

A high-level review meeting held recently in Kochi resolved to expedite groundwork.

It was attended by APM Mohammed Hanish, Principal Secretary (Industries); Rajit Saini, MD and CEO of NICDIT; and Santosh Koshi Thomas, MD of KICDC, along with representatives of the Dilip Buildcon–PSP Projects joint venture, which has been awarded the infrastructure contract.

The Project Management Consultant team also participated in the deliberations.

Officials confirmed that the project agreement would be signed within the month, and preliminary construction activities would commence immediately.

Kerala has become the first state among the 12 proposed Industrial Smart Cities in India to complete the tendering process for infrastructure works.

The state government had earlier spent Rs 1,489 crore through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) to acquire 1,450 acres of land.

The latest fund release follows Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev’s presentation to Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in June 2024.

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