Centre approves ₹300 crore for Kerala’s Palakkad Industrial Smart City project
A file image of Pinarayi Vijayan, the Chief Minister of Kerala (Photo: IANS) Thiruvananthapuram Oct 24 : The Central government has sanctioned the third instalment of Rs 300.2 crore for the Palakkad Industrial Smart City Project, a key component of the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. The funds have been allocated to the Kerala Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Ltd. (KICDC), even as the State government transferred an additional 316 acres of land to the corporation. With this, the Centre has released a total of Rs 613.7 crore in three instalments, while Kerala has handed over 646 acres of land, accounting for nearly 45 per cent of the total project cost and land requirement. The KICDC, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) jointly formed by Kerala’s KINFRA and the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) with equal equity participation, is implementing and coordinating the project. A high-level review meeting was recently held in Kochi to fast-track infrastructure development.