The Rs1,700-crore project aims to generate as many as 90,000 jobs and build 88lakh square feet of office space in three phases spanning ten years.
KOCHI: Three years after Dubai-based TECOM approached Kerala government with the proposal to build a knowledge industry hub in Kochi, chief minister VS Achuthanandan on Friday unveiled the plaque for SmartCity. The Rs1,700-crore project aims to generate as many as 90,000 jobs and build 88lakh square feet of office space in three phases spanning ten years.
The project, claimed by both the ruling Left Democratic Front and the opposition United Democratic Front as their baby, was put into an agreement on May 13. On Thursday, state IT director Ajay Kumar and TECOM executive director Farid Abdul Rahman signed the lease deed for 234.5 acres of land earmarked for SmartCity for 99 years.
Achuthanandan, who had led a relentless campaign against the original pact with TECOM when he was the leader of the opposition, said: “The SmartCity Kochi project is at the forefront of Kerala’s aspirations to develop into a knowledge-based economy. With its world-class infrastructure, environment and support systems, SmartCity Kochi forms part of the key building blocks necessary for the state’s growth.”
Though TECOM officials first came to Kerala on October 2004 with the proposal, the then UDF government had to shelve the project in the face of stiff resistance from the Left. The revised agreement struck down provisions by which the government was to hand over the Infopark in Kochi to the SmartCity and was refrained from promoting any other IT park in central Kerala.
Though the present agreement empowers the government to take over the project if the company backs down on its promises, opposition leader Oommen Chandy alleges that the government had actually shouldered a heavy burden.
The former chief minister, away in New Delhi, alleged that that the government had amended a clause to the cabinet-approved agreement. Now the government will have to pay more if it were to retain its 16% stake in the company, he said.
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