Kerala hires PwC for mega infrastructure project
In a bid to connect Kochi with the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor, Kerala has appointed consulting firm PwC to help devise the master plan. The move is aimed at accelerating movement of goods in order to bolster trade between South India and East Asia.
The Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor is a mega infrastructure project, run by the central government, with the primary objective of boosting trade relations between India and the rest of Asia by linking crucial industrial areas in both regions. The project is being conducted under the supervision of the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT).
In a report published in collaboration between PwC and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Big Four accounting and consulting firm provided the major highlights of the project in its original form. The corridor, which is the fifth of its kind in the country, is expected to run a distance of 560 kilometres across three states: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
In addition to its unprecedented magnitude, the project also hopes to upgrade the level of infrastructure, which will involve an investment of approximately Rs. 12,000 crore including land acquisition costs. The project will improve three national highways, including NH 4, NH 7 and NH 46, and involves plans for the construction of linking-roads with major industrial hubs.
One of the major features of the project is the construction of the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road. With a proposed length of 136 kilometres, the road will link Mammalapuram (50 kms south of Chennai) to Ennore port (25 kms north). The ring road will link some of the most prominent industrial hubs, which include Singaperumal Koil, Sriperumbudur, Tiruvallur, Thamaraipakkam, Periyapalayam and Kattupalli.
Now, the Kerala government has contracted PwC to develop a master plan to help link the East-Coast state to the corridor that runs along the western tip of South India. The plan is expected to be rolled out in the coming months.
The project represents one of two contracts recently awarded to PwC by the government in India, the other being the task of advising on the implementation of the new Goods and Services Tax (GST), alongside a consortium of other companies. At the other side of the table, accountants, financial advisors and consultants of PwC are also working with clients on the matter, helping them achieve compliance with the GST regulation.
