Mega investments in growing Kerala

If you have visited the Gulf, you would know that there are so many Indians employed and living there, it is easy to forget you are not in India. And that had to be the case, with majority of the population from Kerala living and working in the Gulf. They, however, are not content being just another rich NRI living in the Gulf and the recent trend has seen lots of Malayalis who migrated from their state decades ago, coming back to invest in their land, lured probably by their rising affluence.

The $3 billion worth company, Bahrain’s RP group plans to invest Rs.1000 crore in Thiruvanthapuram, the state capital for setting up a world class convention centre. With qualified and skilled laborers, affordable prices and rising affluence, Kerala has become the ‘it’ place for setting up businesses. Gulf’s famous supermarket chain, Lulu Hypermarket is spending Rs.1600 crore to build a 25 lakh square feet mall in Edappally, Kochi.  The hypermarket owner also has plans to build three 5-star hotels and India’s largest flight kitchen with Lufthansa in Kochi.  It is not just businessmen and industrialists who are eyeing Kerala; a former Calicut medical lecturer who shifted to Dubai is investing nearly Rs.2500 crore for setting up two hospitals in Kannur and Palakkad.

This is the trend which other rich NRIs should try and emulate. Instead of buying apartments and plots of residential land for investment, it would be great it even half of them invested in setting up industries or some small/mid-scale companies. That would be a true home coming!