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Kerala government is planning to develop a rare earth corridor connecting Vizhinjam port to Chavara and onward to Kochi, with a potential to attract ₹42,000 crore in investment, state’s Finance Minister K N Balagopal said in his Budget speech on Thursday.
“A new rare earth corridor connecting Vizhinjam port to Chavara, which in turn connects to Kochi is being planned. A centre related to this will be established adjacent to KMML Chavara. By this, Kerala is becoming the permanent magnet hub of the nation. Besides this, an investment of ₹42,000 crore and 50,000 job opportunities are expected,” he said.
He added that ₹100 crore is earmarked for establishing a Rare Earth Critical Minerals Mission in partnership with KMML, KELTRON, NFTDC.
Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML) is a state-owned firm based in Chavara and a major producer of titanium dioxide and mineral sands; Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation (KELTRON) is the state-run electronics and technology enterprise; and Nonferrous Materials Technology Development Centre (NFTDC) is an autonomous R&D body under the Ministry of Mines.
On clean fuels, the government reiterated its commitment to the Hydrogen Valley project announced in the previous Budget, aimed at building a hydrogen-based energy economy. Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), in collaboration with BPCL, has already set up a green hydrogen dispensing unit.
The Centre has also approved hydrogen valley innovation clusters in Kerala. The state said it has attracted ₹10,000 crore of investment in the renewable energy sector from Greenko during the World Economic Forum, with further allocations planned to support hydrogen-related activities.
The allocation for the power sector has been raised to ₹1,309.84 crore, of which ₹1,238.80 crore is earmarked for Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) projects and ₹71.04 crore for non-conventional and renewable energy sources.
Key allocations include ₹5 crore each for battery energy storage systems and pumped storage projects, ₹31.22 crore for smart meter installation, and ₹150 crore for externally aided projects such as Energy Efficiency Indian Grid and Green Energy Corridor Phase II. Funding for ANERT has been increased to ₹53.18 crore to support renewable energy programmes.
The budget also earmarks ₹7.18 crore for green hydrogen projects and ₹7 crore for solar installations in remote tribal habitations yet to be electrified.
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