The ₹5300-crore Kochi Metro project is seeking investments by non-resident Keralites (NRKs).
At the Global NRK Meet organised by the State government here, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd Managing Director Elias George urged NRKs to invest specifically in two township development components of the Metro project – Kakkanad and Muttom – for which an investment of ₹ 250 crore is envisaged.
“Both these projects will soon be opened up for investment by NRKs,” George told a session on investment opportunities in infrastructure development at the meet.
George pointed out that the KMRL was not just attempting to set up a Metro system, but make Kochi a city of seamless transport system for which the NRKs should make their contributions through their investments in the two township development projects.
The ₹1900-core Kannur international airport, which is expected to go operational in around 16 months, has also sought NRK investment. The airport company’s Managing Director G Chandramouli pointed out at the Global NRK Meet that 16 per cent of the investment was open to the public.
The public share in the project which is funded mainly by the Airport Authority of India was almost complete and only two per cent remained to taken up. He urged NRKs to come forward to take up this stake. Chandramouli said he hoped the trial runs could be carried out in December this year.
The Kochi Startup Village, a private-public partnership enterprise, also urged NRKs to put in their money in the venture. Chairman Sanjay Vijayakumar told the gathering that Startup Village aimed to host 10,000 startups in a decade and this would require one million square feet of built-up area and other facilities.
This will require a total investment of ₹750 crore. The Village had already incubated, physically or virtually, some 900 startups.