By Express News Service KOCHI: In a major push for Kochi-Palakkad Industrial Corridor, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) has invited International Competitive Bidding (ICB) for preparing a detailed master plan and preliminary design report for roads and services/utilities for Integrated Manufacturing Cluster (IMC) at Palakkad. After the preparation of the master plan, the agency will assist in selecting contractors and provide technical assistance to DMICDC during detailed design by the contractor. The last date to submit the bid is March 20. Recently, the state government supported the project by giving nod for land acquisition in the budget and approved the Shareholders Agreement and State Support Agreement for the project. “The idea is to develop a detailed master plan by incorporating all key aspects for the development of over 1,800 acres for the project. The agency will have to conduct technical assessments, market survey, demand assessment and develop a financial feasibility model and preliminary design for all roads among other activities,” said Alkesh Kumar Sharma, principal secretary (Industries), who is heading the Kochi-Bangalore Industrial Corridor project. “The tender for the node is proposed to be issued in February 2021,” he said. Scope of work Among other things, the agency will also prepare a demand assessment to establish the industry mix, the range of economic activities, projected population and employment for the identified area and prepare a detailed financial analysis that together will form the basis for the development programme for the detailed master plan. Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor The corridor will originate from Kochi and reach Bengaluru via Palakkad and Coimbatore stretching over 550km. Development of the industrial corridor will contribute to Kerala State Vision (Perspective Plan 2030) to achieve compound annual growth rate of 7.5% in GSDP for the next 20 years. The first phase of the project is expected to attract a total investment of I10,000 crore

Stay updated with all the Latest Kochi headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.