Kerala Completes Tender Process for Core Infrastructure of Palakkad Smart City

Kochi: Kerala has achieved a landmark in industrial development by completing the tender process for the core infrastructure of the Palakkad Smart City, the first node of the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. The state is the first in India to finalise tendering for basic infrastructure under the Central government’s flagship industrial corridor programme.

The engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract has been awarded to a joint venture between Dilip Buildcon Limited (DBL) and PSP Projects Limited. Valued at Rs. 1,316.13 crore, including GST, construction work is set to begin immediately.

The Palakkad Smart City, an Integrated Manufacturing Cluster, is a mega project with an estimated total investment of around Rs. 36,000 crore. The Kerala government had earlier invested Rs. 1,489 crore through KIIFB for land acquisition, and so far, 1,450 acres of land have been acquired. The land currently held by KINFRA will be gradually transferred to the Corridor Development Corporation.

The extension of the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor to Kochi, creating the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor, was approved in August 2019. Kerala moved quickly to operationalise the project, which is a joint initiative of the state and central governments, starting in September 2020. By July 2022, the state had completed 85 per cent of land acquisition, securing 1,152 acres within just 14 months.

The Palakkad Smart City’s development is being coordinated by the Kerala Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited (KICDC), a special purpose vehicle formed through equal equity partnership between KINFRA, representing the state, and the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) under the central government.

The EPC contract covers the complete design, construction, and maintenance of essential infrastructure, including roads, bridges, drainage systems, water supply networks, fire-fighting systems, water reuse facilities, sewer lines, power distribution systems, a sewage treatment plant, and industrial effluent collection and treatment plants.