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Investor Meet elicits good response

Staff Reporter

32 entrepreneurs sign MoU with the KSIDC 32 entrepreneurs sign MoU with KSIDC to bring in investment valued at Rs.576 crore

KOTTAYAM: The Investor Meet organised by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and the Kerala Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) has elicited healthy response from prospective entrepreneurs.

According organisers, 32 entrepreneurs have signed memorandum of understanding with KSIDC which, when it materialises, would bring in investment to the tune of Rs.576-crore to the district. Meanwhile, KINFRA, at their proposed Industrial Development Park being planned at Nattakom, has elicited investment worth Rs.750 crore, organisers said.

Earlier, Minister for Home and Tourism Kodiyeri Balakrishnan stressed the need to arrive at a consensus on the issue of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in the State. Inaugurating the Investor Meet here, the Minister said the initiatives the State had taken in the Information Technology (IT) sector have been affected by the special privileges provided by the SEZ that have come up in other States.

The present provisions in the concerned Acts would have to be amended to suite the special circumstances prevailing in the State, he said. Land had always been a problem, and the present stipulation of minimum 1,000-acre land for a SEZ was not practical in Kerala, he pointed out. He asked the delegates not to wait for the Government to acquire land for future investments, as it would lead to inordinate delay and other complications, but procure land on their own and approach the Government so that the authorities would be able to speed up the follow up.

Public deposits

In his keynote address, Minister for Industries Elamaram Karim said the proposed Infrastructure Kerala Ltd., a Rs.100-crore infrastructure development company being set up with the public-private participation, will become operative soon. The company being envisaged in the line of Cochin International Airports Ltd. (CIAL) would strive to raise Rs.10,000 crore through public deposits. The plan is to create a series of specialised ready-to-occupy facilities for prospective entrepreneurs, in the state, he said.

According to Mr Karim, the approach and attitude of the trade unions to issues have changed, but the image of the State as an investment-hostile destination lingers on. Efforts need to be made to change this image and media has an important role to play in this regard, he said.

K M Mathew, chief editor, Malayala Manorama, said the need of the hour was for the Government to take up infrastructure development on a need-based and time-bound manner.

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