Kerala government to proceed with Global City project in Ayyampuzha after Centre withdraws approval, ET RealEstate
KOCHI: As Centre refused to grant approval for the proposed Global City project in Ayyampuzha, state govt will proceed with the project on its own. Industries minister P Rajeeve informed this after visiting the project site on Monday.
“With Centre withdrawing from the project, state govt now faces additional responsibilities. This has raised concerns about whether the project can be executed profitably. A committee comprising district collector, MLA and grama panchayat president will be formed to coordinate the next steps of the project,” Rajeeve said.
Global City was proposed as one of the major components of Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (KBIC) project. Among the two nodes of KBIC, Industrial Manufacturing Cluster (IMC) in Palakkad was approved by cabinet committee on economic affairs six months ago, and state govt transferred 325.26 acres for Palakkad IMC. However, the other node, Global City, which was intended to span across 358 acres in Ayyampuzha, faced uncertainty as Centre placed it on the back burner, citing that key elements of the development planned in Ayyampuzha are primarily residential and real estate ventures, rather than industrial undertakings as defined by regulation.
“When Kochi Gift City was envisioned as part of industrial corridor, central and state govts had agreed to share project cost equally. After being informed that Gift City was designated exclusively for Gujarat, the project was renamed Global City. Chief minister sought approval from Prime Minister, but Centre has now stated that this project cannot be included as part of industrial corridor,” he said.
“Initially, there was an agreement to allocate Rs 500 crore to acquire 500 acres, but this has now been reduced to 358 acres. Kinfra received Rs 849 crore from KIIFB for land acquisition. Out of the 358 acres, only 215 acres can be allocated for industrial projects. Consequently, cost of land for entrepreneurs is likely to increase significantly. These matters will be examined in detail. Efforts are under way to explore how Global City can be made profitable,” the minister said.
Land acquisition procedures for the project were delayed for the past two-and-a-half years as fund was not released. The amount released by KIIFB was insufficient to compensate landowners as it was fixed based on assessment of land value made two-and-a-half years ago. Therefore, a team of revenue officials has revised the compensation amount.
