Major infra projects in state to get a boost

KOCHI: Big infrastructure projects in the state will get a major thrust as the state government has decided to entrust a special officer for coordinating the implementation of those projects. It also selected the managing director of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), Alkesh Kumar Sharma for the coveted post. He was recently elevated as   Additional Chief Secretary.

The state government has created Special Projects (Infrastructure), a dedicated post for the completion of major infrastructure and developmental projects in the state, with key focus on speeding up major projects like the Vizhinjam Port project and the Semi High-Speed Railway. The state government believes that Sharma’s expertise in dealing with heavy and capital-intensive projects in the past will help in the successful implementation of the big projects in Kerala.

“Within a year we are looking forward to expediting   major infrastructure projects. The plan is to execute and expand these projects,” said Alkesh Kumar Sharma. The government considered the expertise of Sharma in handling major projects like Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor which is a Rs 7.4-lakh crore project.The major projects, of which the implementation will be supervised by Sharma include City Gas Project, Vizhinjam Port, Semi High-Speed Railway, Waterways and Canal Navigation project.