SmartCity Kochi Project Updates

Online, April 25, 2012 (Newswire.com) - SmartCity Kochi Project Update

Kochi: SmartCity Kochi, a joint venture between SmartCity Dubai and the Government of Kerala, has made steady progress in the SmartCity Kochi Project covering Concept Master Plan and the SmartCity Sales pavilion.

In the recently conducted meeting of the Board of Directors, the Concept Master Plan presented by SmartCity had received the approval of the Board of Directors and subsequently forwarded to the SEZ Board for approval.

The meeting was attended by Mr. Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala, Chief Patron, SmartCity & Special Invitee for SmartCity Board, Mr. P.K. Kunhalikutty, Chairman and Minister of Industries & IT, Mr. K. Babu, Minister for Excise & Special Invitee for SmartCity Board, Mr. T. Balakrishnan, Director and MD, Inkel, Mr. Anirudha Damkey Director and Chief Investment Officer, TECOM, Mr. P.H Kurian IAS , Principal Secretary - Information Technology, Dr. Baju George, Managing Director, SmartCity (India) and Mr. Jawad Suleiman, Executive Director, Project Development & Planning, SmartCity Dubai.

SCK team to start operations in the Sales Pavilion from May Onwards

The SmartCity Kochi Pavilion has significantly progressed towards completion and is expected to be ready by 1st week of May 2012. The pavilion which was initially planned on an area of 6,000 sq feet will now be spread across a total built up area of 10,900 sq feet.

It will be an enlarged pavilion with an innovative design and futuristic building - a steel structure set within the natural terrain of the site. This will assist the marketing of the project to international and national stake holders.

The Sales pavilion design involves fully glazed enclosure supported by steel structural skeleton, holding light weight roof panels and column free shell through the use of steel trusses which provides internal flexibility with two split levels segregating private and public spaces.

It will house an open planned office area, enclosed rooms and utilities for project and marketing operations, open reception area, marketing display area of the project along with meeting rooms and state of the art facilities.

Commenting on the special features of the pavilion, Mr. Jawad Suleiman, Executive Director of Project Development & Planning, SmartCity Dubai said that, "The design is based on Green Building initiatives starting from the use of all materials, systems and building orientation. We have used double glazed materials for the building skin which reduces glare and heat gain, thus providing a favorable work environment for our employees."

In addition, the pavilion has a paved drive way leading from the main security gate to the drop off plaza at the main building entrance, with dramatic views of the river, which will be operational from May onwards.

The Concept Master Plan has advanced to the second stage

Upon receiving the approval from the SmartCity Kochi Board members, the concept master plan has moved to its second stage, which will include the detailed components of the Master Plan. Accordingly, the second stage of the Master Plan has started and is expected to be completed by August 2012.

The detailed master planning studies in the second stage include - Final detailed master plan, Environmental and Sustainability study, Urban Design Landscape guidelines, Traffic impact study and Plot Development guidelines. Such profound studies that are embraced by the Master Plan are what distinguish SmartCity Kochi as the prevalent destination for local, regional and international companies to set up their operations.

The Concept Master Plan of SmartCity Kochi outlines the world class facilities, the project would be offering to the companies. The Concept Master Plan visualizes a highly efficient live-work concept that can attract and retain knowledge workers. It has made provisions to take care of every aspect of Knowledge workers' lives such as, their children's education, health care, shopping boulevards, residential units etc. The Smart infrastructure of SmartCity Kochi will be a differentiator for the project.

As planned, the phase 1 construction will be completed between 18 to 24 months from the date of awarding the contract to the contractor. This time frame will include the testing and commissioning of the building systems together with the landscaping and infrastructure around Phase 1.

An Intensive Marketing Plan

SmartCity Kochi has an intensified marketing plan in place. The team is working closely on organizing road shows in a number of strategically important cities across the country. The Road shows are likely to begin from Bangalore, where SmartCity will promote the Master Plan of the project. The date of Road show will be finalized once all approvals for the master plan are obtained from concerned government authorities.

As a part of the marketing plan, SmartCity Kochi is also planning to participate in different events & exhibitions such as Emerging Kerala & GITEX, promoting the project abroad as well. With a structured marketing approach, SmartCity Kochi will be targeting all IT and ITeS organizations from Indian and internationally.

On the continuous progress made in the project Mr. Jawad Suleiman, Executive Director of Project Development & Planning, SmartCity Dubai commented, "The overall SmartCity Kochi project is constantly progressing. With the BoD approval of the Concept Master Plan we are moving towards achieving our vision of developing India's largest IT Park with world class facilities in Kerala. SmartCity Kochi is a commitment towards the people, the state of Kerala and will set new benchmarks in creating and fostering an ecosystem for investment and growth."

The SmartCity Kochi project is expected to create 90,000 jobs in Kerala and will attract the best of knowledge based industries across the globe to set up their operations in Kerala.

About SmartCity:

SmartCity is a conglomerate promoted by Dubai Holding member, TECOM Investments, to develop and manage Knowledge Industry Townships Worldwide.

The vision of SmartCity is to create a global network of self-sustained business townships to foster the knowledge economy.

SmartCity utilizes TECOM's specialized expertise, in the creation and management of knowledge based industry clusters to create an infrastructure and environment catered to the requirements of knowledge based companies and knowledge workers.

SmartCity has a significant impact on the economies in which it is established and creates vibrant knowledge economy communities which are anchored by leading global, regional and local names in the industry to facilitate knowledge transfer and job creation.

SmartCity is based on the successful models of Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Dubai Knowledge Village and provides state-of-the-art infrastructure, environment and support systems that promote the growth of knowledge-based companies.

SmartCity also creates a global network to assist its business partners to tap into various markets, opportunities and talent. SmartCity Kochi, along with SmartCity Malta, are the first two projects to be part of the global network of knowledge-based industry townships that SmartCity seeks to develop. This global network fosters productive linkages and taps into synergies between knowledge-industry centres worldwide.

About SmartCity Kochi:

SmartCity Kochi is a self-sustained industry township for knowledge-based companies located in the city of Kochi, the commercial capital of the south Indian state of Kerala.

To be developed by SmartCity, a member of TECOM Investments and the Government of Kerala, SmartCity Kochi will be one of India's largest business parks.

Based on the successful models of Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Dubai Knowledge Village, SmartCity Kochi will provide an infrastructure, environment and support systems to promote the growth of knowledge-based industry companies.

Apart from a state-of-the-art business-community infrastructure, SmartCity Kochi will offer a host of business support services as well as residential, hospitality, retail and recreational facilities.

The project has an employment generation potential of over 90,000 jobs. Multiplier effects are expected to bring several other benefits to the state.