KOCHI, 17 November 2007 — The foundation for SmartCity Kochi, the knowledge-based industry township, was jointly laid yesterday by Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan and Fareed Abdurrahman, executive director of Dubai’s TECOM Investments. Dubai’s SmartCity will develop the township in partnership with the government of Kerala.
Some 10,000 guests including ministers, government officials and business leaders attended the ceremony at the SmartCity Kochi site.
“The 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 knowledge-based industry growth. In this respect, the project’s ground-breaking ceremony is a significant occasion in the economic transformation of the state,” the chief minister said.
To be developed by SmartCity, the joint-venture company formed by TECOM Investments and Sama Dubai, both members of Dubai Holding, SmartCity Kochi will be one of India’s largest business parks. The project is based on the successful models of Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Dubai Knowledge Village.
“It’s a joint venture between the government and a private company. Ninety thousand jobs would be created when the project is complete. After we signed the agreement for the project in May, we have had queries from a large number of people showing interest in building similar projects across the state. We will go ahead with similar projects in every district of the state,” he added.
The government of Kerala has transferred 246 acres of land to SmartCity as part of the agreement signed in May this year. The project is expected to have a significant impact on the local economy, offering multiple benefits. “We seek to develop SmartCity Kochi into a major hub for excellence in knowledge-based industries. Through our partnership with the government of Kerala, SmartCity Kochi will open several new avenues of growth, specifically in the IT and IT-enabled services (ITES) sectors. The project will be a significant component of our global network of knowledge-based industry townships that we propose to develop around the world,” Ahmad Bin Byat, the executive chairman of TECOM Investments and chairman of the Board of SmartCity, said in his speech read out in his absence.
Apart from a state of the art business-community infrastructure, SmartCity Kochi will include a dynamic range of retail, hospitality, residential and recreational facilities that drive productive business as well as a quality lifestyle.
“There’ll be several synergies and complementarities between SmartCity Kochi and TECOM’s clusters like Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Dubai Knowledge Village. The linkages between these clusters will enhance each other’s international reach and provide greater global opportunities for companies in both projects,” the TECOM’s CEO Abdullatif Al-Mulla said.
SmartCity has also signed a deal with the government of Malta to develop SmartCity Malta. Malta and Kochi are the first two cities to be part of the global SmartCity network.
“SmartCity Kochi is being designed to provide a balanced and highly growth-oriented environment. Companies will benefit from high-quality infrastructure and support systems while IT workers will have the ideal environment to work, network and share ideas,” Fareed Abdurrahman said.
Minister for Fisheries S. Sharma, who is also the chairman of the SmartCity Kochi, presided over the function also addressed by Minister for Food and Civil Supplies C. Divakaran, Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran, Minister for Public Works Mons Joseph and Chief Secretary P.J. Joseph.
SmartCity officials have already started work on the master plan of the project. It will take almost a year for work on the buildings to commence.
