Thiruvananthapuram: The first meeting of KIIF-B here on Monday has decided to constitute a new body, Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation (IFMC), to implement big projects for which revenue streams will be found from the public by charging ‘tolls’ and ‘user fees’. The meeting made a clear distinction between social infrastructure and economic infrastructure. While the creation of the former – drinking water projects, roads, schools, welfare homes - will be paid out of the state’s kitty, the cost of the second – skywalks, over bridges, airport ramps - will be collected from the public.
Finance minister Thomas Isaac called such projects “remunerative” projects. “We had to create a new body to leverage alternative and innovative ways of mobilising funds like Alternative Investment Funds, Infrastructure Debt Fund, Infrastructure Investment Trust and the like that have been approved by RBI and SEBI,” the finance minister said. IFMC will create unique revenue streams, using the instruments at its command, for specific projects. IFMC, along with local bodies, might also in future be tasked with the collection of 'user fee' from the public.
Isaac said that the first meeting of KIIF-B had discussed about the social and remunerative kinds of projects. “We have not fixed a ratio for these two kinds of projects,” the minister said. “At the moment we have no idea, we are just going ahead. Perhaps some years down the line we might gain the wisdom to apportion ratios,” Isaac said. The minister said that his target was to bring in an investment of Rs 50,000 crore in five years.
