State to benefit from Vallarpadom: Kerala Tourism Minister

Kerala was poised to grow into a land of opportunities in the logistic sector with the commissioning of Vallarpadom International Container Transhipment Terminal (ICCT), Home and Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said here on Friday.

Inaugurating the two-day ‘Focus Kerala World Investors Meet-2009’ here, he said the ICCT would provide huge opportunities for investment in the state and urged the investors to fully utilise the meet to their benefit.

He said the change in attitude of the state was reflected by the fact that it was the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry which was organising such a meet and not the government. The smooth acquisition of land of over 1,500 acres for Kannur airport was another instance of the state resolution to grow into an investor-friendly destination, he added.

“There are large opportunities in the fields of mobile technology, nano technology and cybermedia, which are bound to create a revolution in the future and are also employment generators,” Kodiyeri said and cautioned that the neighbouring states were keeping their eye on all such prospective fields.

Stating that the state had done exemplarily well in the tourism sector at a time when other countries fared poorly, the Tourism Minister called upon the chamber to take efforts to revive the sick units and work towards removing industrial stagnation.

Inaugurating the conclaves in ten different sectors identified by the chamber, where investments could be made, Fisheries Minister S Sarma said the entrepreneurs in the state should start working from now to achieve a growth of 20 percent by 2015. “The state should develop all facilities to attain the target. Electricity is a key component behind the development of any sector and the completion of LNG terminal will enable the state to offer power at budget rate”, he said.

Dismissing allegations that the government was not serious in solving the issues related to the Smart City Kochi project, he agreed that there were obstacles on the way and the government was seriously studying the matter and trying to find a solution which would be transparent and acceptable to all.

Earlier, delivering the welcome address, K M Abdulla, Chairman, Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the meet was the result of the chamber’s two years of hard work to find the viable areas for investment in association with 999 panchayats in the state.

Source