THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 31 May 2008 — The Left Democratic Front government in Kerala expects private investment to the tune of Rs100bn, according to Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem.

“We are also planning a joint-venture project with Russian-based Roseboron to set up a 10,000-ton capacity titanium sponge unit,” he told reporters.

In a bid to encourage private investment, the government has signed a memorandum of understanding with leading developers, Shoba Group, to set up Shoba Hi-Tech City in Kochi with a total outlay of Rs.50bn, the minister said.

The single window clearance committee headed by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan would meet soon to consider the projects of Shoba group, he said.

Discussions with the Russian company for the titanium sponge unit at Chavara in Kollam district is under way. An investment of Rs.9.60bn is expected to come into the project, he said.

An expert technical committee has evaluated its technical aspects and Engineering India would examine the financial aspect. State government would like to have the Indian government also as a partner in the project, and that would benefit the state very much, he said.

Kareem said 100 acres of land has been acquired for the project and this, as well as the cost of additional infrastructure, has been taken into account while calculating the total cost of building the plant at Kollam, about 70 km from here.

“The preliminary discussion for the project took place in New Delhi with Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary T.K.A. Nair. With the prime minister’s office being involved in the discussion, everything is clear and transparent,” the minister said.

Kareem said growth of the state depends on small-scale industries since one million people work in this sector in the state. “There is scope for further growth in this sector. During 2008-09, the government will give more attention to the small-scale industrial sector,” he said

He said the Kerala government was also planning to forward eight applications to the center for the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZ). The state already has one SEZ at Kochi.

“Of the 17 pending applications, we found that only eight have acquired the land and the rest are in the process of buying land. So we have more or less decided that we will forward to the federal government the applications of the eight who have acquired land,” Kareem said. “The SEZs whose applications are likely to be forwarded include those for IT, biotechnology and electronics.”

Saudi Documentary Screened

Last Piece directed by Mohammad Bazaid of Saudi Arabia was part of the 14 films by Arab directors that drew a good number of audience at the first International Video Festival of Kerala (IVFK) organized by the Kerala Chalachitra Academy last week. Baghdadi Correspondent from Iraq documents the travails of an Al-Arabiya correspondent Jawad Khadom who is kidnapped and shot four times.

Ghizlane Assif’s By Love (Morocco) shows how theaters face threat to their existence in modern times. Chicken Soup (Farah Abushwesha) and The Eve by Salma Baccar also caught the attention of the audience.

Jenin Jenin directed by Muhammad Bakri, an Israeli Arab was a controversial and critically acclaimed documentary which led to the death of its producer. Bakri’s film narrates the testimonies of victims of the 2002 Israeli attack on a Palestinian refugee camp in the town of Jenin.

The producer of the film was killed by Israeli soldiers after the shooting of the film.

Rise and Shine (Sherif el-Bendary/Egypt); To the Unknown World (Mohammed Al-Roumi/Syria); and Where Is Iraq by Baz Shamoun were among the other films screened during the festival. “The IVFK was inspired by the tremendous success of the International Film Festival of Kerala which has already been recognized as a major festival all over the world,” Academy Chairman K. R. Mohanan said.

The festival has national-level competitions in four sections which will be extended to the international level from next year, Mohanan said. The best long documentary would fetch a cash award of Rs.100,000 and a certificate of merit and Rs.50,000 each would be given to best short documentary, best short fiction and best animation.

In the competition section, the long documentary by Leena Manimekalai caught attention. It is the story of three ordinary women who live extraordinary lives surviving the darkest of times and go against society’s norms to live and work according to the rules they have set for themselves. Ayodhya Gatha (Vani Subramanian); Bullets and Butterflies (Sushmit Ghosh); City Images (Prabhuddha) were among the other films screened in the section.

Increasing Capital Expenditure

The state government, which is into its third year in office, will now turn its focus on raising capital expenditure in the coming years to develop basic infrastructure, according to Finance Minister Dr. Thomas Isaac.

“It’s necessary to attract more private investment to ensure the overall economic growth of the State,” Dr. Isaac said. “The fiscal position of the sate has improved over the last two years and there has been a significant increase in revenue receipts. What’s now needed is controlling of administrative expenditure and more investment in infrastructure development.”

The government aims at doubling the capital expenditure from the current level of one percent of the gross state domestic product to two percent at the end of the current financial year.

The capital expenditure stood at Rs.9bn in 2006-07 and rose to Rs15bn last fiscal year. It is expected to touch Rs.30bn at the end of the current fiscal year.