Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board clears 48 infrastructure projects
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first meeting of Kerala Infrastructure Investment Board (KIIF-B) has sanctioned 48 infrastructure projects worth Rs 4004.86 crore. Drinking water schemes constitute the largest number of projects, 23 of them worth Rs 1257 crore. With 16 projects worth Rs 611 crore, PWD comes second. Finace minister Dr Thomas Isaac said that Rs 1740.63 crore would be disbursed as first tranche for these 48 projects. KIIF-B plans to mobilise Rs 2,000 crore for these basic infrastructure projects by floating general obligation bonds (GOBs). It has been decided to appoint SBI CAPS as the mercvhant bank for the purpose.
GOBs are generally floated for social infrastructure projects that do not generate any revenue. Therefore, they will be backed by the liquidity of the government and not by the revenue generated by the projects. “For this, we already have already set apart a portion of the motor vehicle tax and the whole of the Rs 400 crore-plus petroleum cess the state collects annually,” Isaac said. In addition to the GOBs, Rs 4000 crore has already been lined up from NABARD.
The other big plan is to launch an NRI Chitty in cooperation with KSFE. According to Isaac this would mobilise Rs 25,000 crore in the first year itself. “A portion of this can be parked with KIIF-B,” Isaac said. There is also a plan to float land bonds, a decision on which will be taken at the next KIIFB meeting scheduled for January 2017. Isaac expects that projects worth Rs 6000 crore would be sanctioned during the second meeting.
