Thiruvananthapuram: The cabinet meeting has approved a massive further development project worth Rs 741 crore launched by Vellore Kerala Paper Products Limited (KPPL) under the state industries department. The project is being implemented with the aim of increasing production capacity and diversifying products. KPPL was newly formed after the state government took over the Vellore HNL, which was closed down by the central government in 2019. Industries Minister P. Rajeev said that this is the first time in the history of India that a closed central public sector undertaking has not only been taken over by the state, reorganized and successfully run, but also launched a huge further development project. Rs 175 crore has been allocated as the government's shareholding and Rs 25 crore as the KSI DC's shareholding. Rs 541 crore will be made available through a consortium of banks. Market demands, environmental regulations including plastic ban, and changing consumer tastes are considered to have a huge growth potential for high-quality paper products. With the growth of e-commerce, food distribution, and retail sectors, the demand for paper products is also increasing significantly. The demand for paper products such as writing & printing paper, copier paper, etc. used for notebooks, text books, and office purposes is also constantly increasing across the country. Although the daily requirement of specialty grades, quality packaging grades, and writing & printing paper grades is high in the state, all these are purchased from other states at high freight rates. In this context, the expansion project aims to fully utilize the potential by forming a 'paper cluster'. With the completion of the project and the full operationalization of the plants, KPPL will become an organization with a turnover of Rs. 1500 crore. The minister said that the project will be completed within 24 months.