Knowledge, health corridor: Draft report in 6 months

Charulatha Somal, Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) managing director, has said that a draft report on the proposed Manipal – Konaje knowledge and health corridor will be prepared in six months.

“The draft report will be prepared after consulting stakeholders and carrying out a series of studies,” she added, at a workshop of stakeholders on Friday.

The state government had envisaged a knowledge and health corridor in the coastal belt, between Manipal and Konaje, covering a distance of 82 km, she said.

“The workshop aims at conceptualising the vision and components of the corridor and exploring the opportunities of establishing the corridor as a global destination for knowledge and health, considering the existing and emerging strengths of the region. The workshop will initiate the preparation of feasibility study to develop the corridor,” the managing director explained.

Somal added that the proposed corridor will aim to achieve a conducive and enabling ecosystem for development and functioning of world-class academic and research institutions, manufacturing units and healthcare service providers.

Beyond industrial corridors

“So far, there has been an emphasis on developing industrial corridors in the country. Now, we will move beyond and identify the tangible and intangible, inherent strengths of the region. The idea of the corridor generated from the people of the region and the KUIDFC has been mandated by the state government to initiate the activities for the growth of knowledge and health corridor. It is a mission and also a challenging exercise,” she opined.

“After the report is submitted, we will initiate dialogue with the government on the intervention needed from the government,” she added.

Ravindra of PwC, consultancy for the Manipal – Konaje knowledge and health corridor, said that the target segments for the corridor are innovation and knowledge, healthcare, corridor infrastructure, wellness and medical tourism, educational and research.

“It aims at enabling the ecosystem and support services required for the development of the corridor. There is a need to capture the potential in wellness and medical tourism in the region. The corridor should act as a catalyst, creator of job and provider of wealth and knowledge,” he explained.

District In-charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary said that the proposed corridor is expecting investments from the public and private sectors, including physical and support infrastructure, for the effective implementation of the corridor project.

MLAs U T Khader, D Vedavyas Kamath and Dr Bharath Shetty and Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh were present.