More news on High Speed rail corridor of Keralam

Japan firm to conduct study on rail corridor

KSIDC and DMRC will extend support for conducting the feasibility study

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‘Project will cost around Rs.50,000 crore'  Focus on basic infrastructure development

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Kozhikode: The State government is planning to appoint a Japan-based consultancy to undertake a comprehensive feasibility study for the proposed North-South High Speed Rail Corridor project connecting Thiruvananthapuram with Manjeshwaram in Kasaragod district, Industries Minister Elamaram Karim has said.

The study would be conducted with the support of Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the Minister said while inaugurating a management convention organised by the Calicut Management Association in the city on Saturday.

Mr. Karim said Managing Director of KSIDC Alkesh Sharma and State Industries Principal Secretary T. Balakrishnan had already contacted the Japanese consultancy to conduct detailed discussions on the project. As per preliminary discussions held with DMRC Managing Director E. Sreedharan, the project would cost around Rs.50,000 crore, he said.

Freight corridor

According to Mr. Karim, the proposed Cochin-Coimbatore Freight Corridor would also witness progress with the completion of a final discussion between Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments. He said the mediation of Union government would play a crucial role for the realisation of the project.

Mr. Karim said the development of basic infrastructure would be the only possible way for speeding up the industrial growth in the State.

“Knowledge-based new generation industrial ventures utilising the rich human resource of Kerala have immense scope in the days ahead,” he said.

Expressing satisfaction over the role played by the Left Democratic Front government in developing existing infrastructure, the Minister said that Kerala had already reached above the national average in industrial growth rate.

It would always be a prestigious achievement for the government for its initiative in investing Rs.5,000 crore for strengthening infrastructure in the public sector, he said.

(The Hindu dt 23-1-2011)