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40 industrial parks planned in Kerala, Bahrain may invest

Kerala Industries Minister Suseela Gopalan told the state assembly on June 30 that 40 industrial parks would be set up this year to provide an impetus to the government's efforts to attract more investors to the state.

Speaking during question hour, she said the government's policy was to set up an industrial park in each assembly constituency. The major hurdle in this process was acquisition of land.

Gopalan said a 15-member delegation from Bahrain would soon visit Kerala to explore the possibilities of setting up industries here.

She said she had asked all MLAs to provide five acres of land at free of cost for this purpose to initiate the works as early as possible. Suitable land had already been acquired in five constituencies, she added.

Gopalan said the state government would soon announce a new industrial policy. It also proposed to form a corpus fund to provide financial assistance to public sector units. The government would soon bring in a legislation to strengthen the "single window system".

She said following the visit of ministerial-level and official- level delegations to different countries, many industrialists, including several Non-Resident Indians, had evinced keen interest to set up industries in the state. As many as 13 new ventures had already started functioning at the Technopark near Thiruvanthapuram, she added.

The government was aware of the crisis being faced by the agriculture sector in the state due to the Centre's export and import policies. The state government would extend all possible help to agro-based industries, she added.

Gopalan demanded that central investment in the Cochin Shipyard should be increased. The state government had also submitted to the Centre for clearance of a project report for setting up of titanium complex.

She said due to the Centre's liberalised economic policies, the industries in the state got an opportunity to import raw materials directly and encourage export. The export from the Thiruvananthapuram Technopark had registered a boost last year with a business of Rs 250 million.

UNI