Governor Shri Bhatiaji,

Shri Oommen Chandiji,

Shri Sayeedji,

Shri Ahmedji,

Shri Aryadan Muhammedji,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am extremely happy to be here with all of you on this momentous occasion which will transform the future of this region and this beautiful state of the Union that Kerala is. It gives me great pleasure to be here today to lay the foundation stone for the new power project of NTPC named after our beloved leader, the late Shri Rajiv Gandhiji. I am reminded of the great visionary Prime Minister that Jawaharlal Nehru was and his references to the Public Sector Projects of the time, he said these are the modern temples of India. NTPC projects resembles such temples coming up all over the country and these will ensure that the 21st century will indeed be India's century. I am sure that this will further re-inforce the foundation of Kerala's long-term economic development. It has been the effort of the UPA led Government to take all steps to promote Kerala's economic and social development. I compliment the Government of Shri Oommen Chandy and the people of this state for further accelerating the process of the State's development which I am sure will be on a fast growth path in the coming years.

The people of Kerala have made a mark in all walks of life all over the world. Your technical skills, intellectual capabilities, and your spirit of enterprise and creativity are among our most valuable national resources. You have converted these resources into tangible gains. Kerala has been a front-runner in human development in our country and the quality of life here is judged as among the best in the country and are comparable with the best in the world. . Your investment in education, health and welfare and in the empowerment of women, weaker sections of society and Minorities has gone a long way in creating what some economists have even called the "Kerala Model of Development". I commend and salute you for your achievements on this front.

This people centered growth is what we are trying to achieve at the national level. There is much that the rest of India can learn from Kerala's record in literacy, especially female literacy, and in gender equity. I believe Kerala's investment in human skill development enabled it to make use of employment opportunities at home and abroad. The enormous migration of skilled labour and of the educated middle class to various parts of our country and the outside world, especially the Persian Gulf region in recent years, has been the result of Kerala's investment in skill formation. In this sense, Kerala is an example of successful globalisation. The people of this state have been able to make use of global opportunities and have reinvested their earnings back into the development of their motherland.

This praiseworthy achievement of Kerala needs to be sustained and taken forward. This requires increased attention to be paid to the modernization of the services sector, the strengthening of the knowledge economy and to environment-friendly industrialization. While the industrious people of Kerala have brought good name and valuable income from abroad and from other States within the country, I would like to see a much stronger local economy in Kerala. I want a sound infrastructure to be in place here to enable and sustain speedier economic growth.

I believe this power project of the National Thermal Power Corporation will be an important investment in this direction. Kerala needs more power to fuel a faster pace of growth of the services and industrial sectors, as well as to modernize the agriculture and plantation sectors. Studies of Kerala's economic performance in recent years have shown that the inefficiency of the State Electricity Board and the consequent inadequacy of good quality power supply has emerged as an important hurdle to faster growth.

I understand that the existing power generation capacity is under-utilised due to the high-cost of fuel. I sincerely hope the State Government will pay special attention to the reform of the electricity board and improving the efficiency of power supply. I am happy to announce that we propose to expand the capacity of this power station by 1950 MW at an investment of Rs 6,600 crore by sourcing cheaper fuel.

To signify the stature of the new project we have decided to rename it as the "Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Project", as a tribute to a great visionary leader that Rajivji was. The country has benefited immensely from the foresight of our beloved leader the late Shri. Rajiv Gandhiji. Our Government's efforts to modernize our economy are a continuation of a process Rajivji had initiated two decades ago.

It is imperative that the cost of power from Kayamkulam is comparable to other sources like Ramagundam, Simhadri and Thalcher which deliver power to the Southern region at a reasonable price.

This mammoth power project will contribute significantly to the economic progress of this dynamic region. Considering Kerala's current power shortages and projected demand, this expansion of the Kayamkulam project will be of great help to the state. And it will also help other beneficiary States in the Southern Region. With a more integrated national power grid that we are putting in place, power generation capacity in any one part of the country will become a national asset available across the country.

Recently NTPC has been successful in arranging gas for its project in Western India at a reasonable price. NTPC is making similar efforts to arrange gas or LNG for this project also. To achieve this objective NTPC and GAIL are joining hands to get into possible backward integration starting from liquefaction. A re-gasification terminal is planned to be put up at Kochi at an investment of about Rs 2,300 crore. It will be the source of fuel for the Kayakulam Power Plant. I am happy to state that since LNG would open up an opportunity to develop a gas based petrochemicals complex, GAIL (India) Ltd, in association with the KSIDC, is studying the feasibility of setting up a Gas Cracker Complex in Kerala.

This model of partnership between two public sector enterprises in launching a new mega investment project is worthy of emulation by other public sector enterprises. The Kerala Gas Cracker Complex would be a global-scale plant requiring an estimated investment of Rs 7,000 crore to produce 600,000 tonnes of Ethylene and 150,000 tonnes of Propylene per annum. This petrochemicals complex would have a significant impact on the socio-economic development of the area as it would provide direct employment a large number of people and indirect employment to many thousand people in small-scale ancillary industries based on polymers/ plastics. This is, perhaps, the biggest public investment initiative in Kerala to be undertaken by the central government in recent times. Given the fact that this project would provide reliable power at a lower cost, it will add to the luster of Kerala's economic growth performance. It will boost both agricultural and industrial activities which currently suffer from high cost of power.

NTPC currently generates over one fourth of the total national generation. This is a creditable achievement and worthy of emulation by other power utilities. The scope for increasing power generation through better management of existing investment is enormous. NTPC has not only provided power at a competitive average rate of 147 paise per unit, it has also set benchmarks of excellence in various facets of project implementation and operation.

The robust image built by NTPC has resulted in the success of its IPO in the month of October 2004. This is the kind of people centered and public oriented excellence that my Government would like to encourage. We want this kind of excellence to benefit the State and people of Kerala. The expanded Kayamkulam project will deepen the synergy between the most educated State in the country and largest and best managed power utility in the country. I compliment the Power Minister Shri Sayeed and the CMD of NTPC, Shri Jain for their efforts in bringing this project to this stage.

Friends,

I look forward to returning to a new Kerala, a Kerala that is even more dynamic and creative, even more engaged with the world outside and even more hospitable to new enterprise. Kerala has unique strengths, economic and social, and can make much better use of its natural and human resources. With improved power supply you can attract more investment in the knowledge economy and in tourism. Without destroying the natural beauty of "God's Own Country", you can create here a paradise of creativity and enterprise living in harmony with nature. In fact, Kerala had taken the lead in the growth of the electronics industry in India but has since lagged behind some of its neighbours. I hope the improved supply of quality power will act as a fillip to the IT industry in Kerala.

With larger investments in infrastructure which will provide better power supply and improved connectivity, with a pro-active government in Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram and an enterprising people who are willing to conquer all frontiers of growth, I am certain that this state will not only meet all the challenges of globalisation but will also firmly be on a path to prosperity.

I wish the people of Kerala all success in their future endeavours. I assure you of our fullest cooperation and support in realizing your dreams and aspirations. The step we have taken today is just one small step in realizing your great, big dream of building a New Kerala. May you realize your dreams.

Jai Hind!