KOLLAM: The Rs 100-crore Indian Institute of Infrastructure and Construction academy in Chavara, ( IIIC –Kollam), for which construction work began in March 2013, is not yet ready. The academy’s progress is allegedly not in line with the ideas planned in its inception stage, and is against the proposals by the former labour minister Shibu Baby John who had driven the project. The IIIC, which is in the final stage of construction, will hold discussions with a private firm in Vadakara to takeover the operations of the institute, as against the earlier decision.
“There has been no progress in construction ever since this Government assumed power. I had taken initiatives to appoint an operator with international exposure for the institute, which I later came to know has been excluded. I had made tie-ups with international players in the field in the initial stages of construction, and to give better exposure, had ensured international placements for those who passed out of this institution,” former Labour Minister Shibu Baby John told DC. “The agreement was to have maximum overseas placement, which would be evaluated. They have ruined everything.”
The academy is currently under the Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE) to impart skill development programmes for migrant workers and other labourers in various fields including construction. The construction academy was initially proposed by the LDF ministry in 2008 at Chathannoor in Kollam under the name ‘Kerala Construction Academy’. It was later shifted to Chavara under the present name by the UDF Government.
KASE had developed a Master Plan and detailed design for the campus with over 2 lakhs square feet facilities including an administrative block, training block, canteen, and substation. The foundation stone for the institute was laid in March 2013. There were around 700 workers of which 200 were locally inducted for the construction. The institute will now have a third party as an operator of the institute, and the building will be given to them on lease.
