KOCHI: The government plans to acquire 1,500 acres of land for the implementation of the much-talked Kochi-Coimbatore industrial corridor project. Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac in his budget speech on Friday announced that the project would begin by the commencement of land acquisition for the venture totaling 1,500 acres in Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad districts. In Ernakulam the land will be mainly acquired from Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd and the Perumbavoor-based Travancore Rayons Ltd.
As the first step towards the project the unutilized land under the possession of FACT will be acquired by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation on a mutually agreeable price. The 70 acres of the government-owned Travancore Rayons will also be acquired. In Thrissur district 500 acres will be taken over for the project envisaging a cluster of small, medium and big industries on the sidelines of the National Highway-47. Ozhalappathy near Kannampra in Palakkad district will account for another 500 acres of the proposed corridor. The estimated cost for the land acquisition has been placed Rs 5,100 cr. According to Mr. Isaac out of this Rs 1,000 cr is expected to be invested in the current financial year itself.
