KOCHI: The State Industries Department expects to register by the end of next September a new company modelled on Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) that will promote industrial infrastructure and woo investments.

Industries Minister Elamaram Karim has said the floating of the new company will be the fulfilment of part of the industrial policy announced by the Achuthanandan Government.

Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, on the sidelines of a State-wide consultation on the development of industrial clusters, the Minister said the extent of the investment needed, the scope of activities the company would undertake, etc., would be studied by a consultant to be appointed. The report would be ready within a month, he said.

The State Government would hold up to 26 per cent investment in the new venture through agencies such as the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC).

The State needed large chunks of land to woo investors. To attract investments in new and emerging sectors, new infrastructure should be built. The new company would engage itself basically in acquiring land, building infrastructure and leasing the facility to new enterprises. However, he said, the existing agencies such as Kinfra and the KSIDC would continue to function as they were doing now.

The Minister said preliminary works on starting a food park in Wayanad were on.

Kinfra officials were already scouting for the land required for the project. However, some of the existing industrial parks still needed infrastructure. For example, he said, the food park in Kakkancherry needed more water.

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