Infrastructure Kerala (InKel), a newly formed infrastructure PPP, has identified IL&FS as its chief consultant. With 74% equity from NRIs and 26% from Kerala government, the PPP had been scouting for a consultant to give technical handholding in the infrastructure projects in its basket.
Out of 25 applicants for InKel’s tender, 10 EoIs (Expression of Interests) were shortlisted. The board of directors, which met last week, had picked up IL&FS as its consultant.
Industry circles find it strange that InKel has gone out advertising for a consultant, when even the state government nominees in the board are NRI business barons like MA Yusuf Ali (UAE), Galfar Mohammed Ali (Oman), CK Menon (Doha), Varghese Kurian (Kuwait) and CM Rappai (Doha). The company’s MD is the former FACT CMD GC Gopala Pillai.
InKel has business plans to build, operate, maintain, sell and deal with infrastructure facilities, projects and ventures including SEZs, industrial parks, ports, commercial complexes, logistics facilities, roads, rail and other transport facilities. The onus of the consultant will be to tailor strategies like joint ventures, partnerships, formulation of regulatory, commercial and contracting agreements and creation of organisational systems.
InKel has more than 12 mega projects at hand, InKel Chairman Elamaram Karim told FE. “Now that a consultant with expertise has been identified, a masterplan, detailing the factors that lead to growth of infrastructure sector in Kerala, will be charted out soon,” he said.
Four locations in Kerala, including Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, are identified for setting up parks for enterprises in sunrise industrial segments.
Against the Rs 100-crore paid-up capital plans, InKel saw oversubscription to the tune of Rs 126 crore. The company had gone for roadshows in UAE, Europe and the US to leverage Kerala’s NRI diaspora for the state’s infrastructure development.