Kerala cruises ahead with ₹50,000-cr infra building plans

The Kerala government has readied an ambitious ₹50,000 crore plan not just to tackle the economic slowdown but also to give a major push to infrastructure building across the state. State FM Thomas Isaac said that the original plan is to create a world-class infrastructure to attract investment as projects worth ₹10,000 crore have already been tendered and implemented, while infra projects of ₹20,000 crore have been lined up for execution this year. The state has launched an off-budget spending program by creating special purpose vehicles that are investing in infrastructure. Kerala has recently signed an agreement with the Union ministry of road transport and highways for the widening of the 526 km NH 66 stretch in the state into 6 lanes. The state government has agreed to bear a fourth of the cost to acquire land for the projects.