By P. Vijian, NNN-Bernama
Chennai, India : A Malaysian government agency has won a bid to develop a multimillion dollar infrastructure project in India, a 437.5 million Ringgit (one USD = about 3.5 Ringgit) satellite township in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
On Monday, the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), an agency under the Works Ministry, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Kerala State Industrial Development Corp (KSIDC) to develop 275 acres of land in the Industrial Growth Centre at Kinalur, Kozhikode.
Works Minister S. Samy Vellu, who led a Malaysian business delegation to Kerala, said the state government had allocated the land and within the next six months a contract would be signed with the state government to pursue the project.
“It will take about five years to complete and this is a major infrastructure development project for Malaysian contractors,” Samy Vellu told Bernama in this city in the state of Tamil Nadu Tuesday.
Once the mega project kicks off, it is expected to woo investments in various industrial and commercial activities.
Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the third largest city in Kerala. Samy Vellu said the integrated project in Kinalur, located about 25km from Kozhikode, would comprise knowledge-based industries, a medical city, education city and other new-generation industries.
Considered a major infrastructure investment in the state, which is becoming a major tourist and commercial gateway in south India, the project is expected to create 2,500 jobs directly and indirectly for the locals.
India has been by far the most lucrative overseas market for Malaysian construction companies and to date they have completed 47 projects in India worth 7.4 billion Ringgit and are currently undertaking 11 other projects worth 3.3 billion Ringgit. About 80 per cent of the projects involve the construction of highways.
The MOU was signed by CIDB chief executive officer Hamzah Hasan and KSIDC managing director P.H. Kurian