SmartCity Kochi is an information technologyspecial economic zone in Kochi, Kerala, India.[1][2] A joint venture company named Smart City (Kochi) Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. was formed by Government of Kerala (16% holding) and Dubai Holding (84% holding) to implement the project.[3] The project is spread over an area of 246 acres (99.6 ha) and envisions a minimum 8.8 million sq ft of built up space out of which at least 6.21 million sq ft will be specifically for IT/ITES/allied services.[1] The project is expected to create over 90,000 direct jobs.[1][4]
The Phase 1 of the project, consisting of a 6,50,000 sq. ft. IT tower named SCK-01 and associated infrastructure, was inaugurated on February 20, 2016, by the then Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy.[5] SmartCity Kochi is one of the first two projects of SmartCity's vision to build a large network of knowledge-based industry townships across the world. Other being SmartCity Malta, whose first phase was inaugurated in October 2010.[6] As of 2021, SmartCity houses about 50 companies which includes Fortune 500 corporations such as Baker Hughes and Ernst & Young, employing close to 5,000 professionals.
The project was originally initiated by P.K. Kunjalikkutty the IT Minister in the UDF government in 2004. Later when Oommen Chandy was the Chief minister, the government invited the Dubai Internet City officials for a feasibility study and later the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in year 2005. Due to protest from opposition parties who alleged that the agreement is not in the best interests of the state and due to upcoming state assembly election, the government could not go ahead with the project.
After V. S. Achuthanandan took over as the chief minister, he invited the Dubai Internet City team for another round of discussions. He proposed new suggestions and altered the earlier MoU signed by the Oommen Chandy government. On 13 May 2007, the officials of the Government of Kerala and TECOM Investments signed the updated framework agreement.[7][8] Then for the next four years, the project was in a standstill mode due to few unresolved differences between state government and TECOM. The main hurdle was TECOM's demand for selling rights on the 12% free-hold land. Government was ready to give the 12% free-hold land only inside the SEZ, which made it impossible for TECOM to sell that portion to a third party under the SEZ policy by the Government of India.
These issues were resolved on 2 February 2011, in a meeting between Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan and His Excellency Ahamed Humaid Al Tayer, member of the Supreme Fiscal Committee for Dubai World Group and Dubai Holding Group, UAE. This breakthrough was arrived as a result of the mediation by the Vice Chairman of Norka-Roots and a renowned businessman from the state M. A. Yousuf Ali.[9]
Progress of the projectedit
The inaugural IT building SCK-01 in Phase 1
After the breakthrough on the disputes in February 2011, the project has gained momentum and is in the construction stages now. Construction of SmartCity was launched by the Chief Minister Mr. Oommen Chandy on 8 October 2011 in a glittering event held at site. The SmartCity Experience Pavilion, which locates the offices for the administrative and project management team, was launched on 9 June 2012. The Phase I of the project was inaugurated on February 20, 2016, by the then Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy.[5]
Ministry of Commerce have granted a single SEZ status for entire 246 acres of land in December 2011. There were few issues in getting a single SEZ status as the land is separated by a waterbody. Approval for the project as a single SEZ was important to avail the benefits of a multi-purpose SEZ.[10]
The first phase which started operations in May 2016, involves a four storied building with 6,50,000 sq. ft. space, which is one of India's largest LEED Platinum rated IT buildings.
The second phase, which includes development in excess of 6 million sq. ft., is currently in progress and expected to be completed by 2021. The development is carried out with the support of various co-developers who have signed agreements with SmartCity Kochi. Sands Infra, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Group, is constructing 32-storied twin towers which are slated to become India's tallest IT towers. The development encompasses 3.7 million sq.ft of built up area with the potential to generate jobs in excess of 30,000 when fully occupied. Further developments include the construction of 1.2 million sq.ft of built-up space across the two towers by Bangalore-based Prestige Group, 1.5 million sq.ft by Dubai-based Holiday Group, 4,00,000 sq. ft. by Maratt Ltd and a modern school with the capacity to accommodate over 3000 students by Dubai-based GEMS Education, world's largest private provider of K-12 education. Phases three, four and five are also under discussion as the potential investors are planning to build ready-to-move-in residential plots with an estimated amount of Rs.4000 crore.[11]
According to the agreement signed by the Government of Kerala and Tecom investments, the project expects an investment of ₹2000 Crore. The project would be spread over 246 acres (99.6 ha). On completion, SmartCity Kochi would be one of the largest IT parks in the country. The project is expected to have minimum 8,800,000 sq ft (820,000 m2) of built up space with a minimum of 6,200,000 sq ft (580,000 m2) set aside for IT/ITES/allied services. It was to be the first SmartCity project in India and second in the world by the Tecom Investments group.[12]
Location and connectivityedit
SmartCity Kochi is located approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) from downtown Kochi and 22 kilometres (14 mi) from the Cochin International Airport. It is located in Kakkanad, which is the Ernakulam district headquarters. The project site is located adjacent to InfoPark, Kochi, one of the state owned IT parks in Kerala. The presence of InfoPark, SmartCity, KINFRA Park, etc., makes the region of Kakkanad a very important center for IT/ITES in the state of Kerala.
PeakAir Pvt Ltd handles a major portion of the data traffic inside SmartCity and has a Data Center inside SmartCity, which provides the park with 100% uptime data connectivity. Other major bandwidth providers such as Vodafone, Tata Communications, BSNL, Reliance, Bharti Airtel and Power Grid Corporation of India are also present in the park.
smartcity, kochi, smartcity, kochi, information, technology, special, economic, zone, kochi, kerala, india, joint, venture, company, named, smart, city, kochi, infrastructure, formed, government, kerala, holding, dubai, holding, holding, implement, project, pr. SmartCity Kochi is an information technology special economic zone in Kochi Kerala India 1 2 A joint venture company named Smart City Kochi Infrastructure Pvt Ltd was formed by Government of Kerala 16 holding and Dubai Holding 84 holding to implement the project 3 The project is spread over an area of 246 acres 99 6 ha and envisions a minimum 8 8 million sq ft of built up space out of which at least 6 21 million sq ft will be specifically for IT ITES allied services 1 The project is expected to create over 90 000 direct jobs 1 4 SmartCity KochiIndustryInformation Technology Business ParkGenreInfrastructure Service ProviderHeadquartersKochi Kerala IndiaKey peopleManoj Nair CEOOwner16 Government of Kerala 84 Dubai HoldingNumber of employees5 000Websitewww smartcity kochi inThe Phase 1 of the project consisting of a 6 50 000 sq ft IT tower named SCK 01 and associated infrastructure was inaugurated on February 20 2016 by the then Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy 5 SmartCity Kochi is one of the first two projects of SmartCity s vision to build a large network of knowledge based industry townships across the world Other being SmartCity Malta whose first phase was inaugurated in October 2010 6 As of 2021 SmartCity houses about 50 companies which includes Fortune 500 corporations such as Baker Hughes and Ernst amp Young employing close to 5 000 professionals Contents 1 History 2 Progress of the project 3 Agreement 4 Location and connectivity 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory editThe project was originally initiated by P K Kunjalikkutty the IT Minister in the UDF government in 2004 Later when Oommen Chandy was the Chief minister the government invited the Dubai Internet City officials for a feasibility study and later the Memorandum of Understanding MoU was signed in year 2005 Due to protest from opposition parties who alleged that the agreement is not in the best interests of the state and due to upcoming state assembly election the government could not go ahead with the project After V S Achuthanandan took over as the chief minister he invited the Dubai Internet City team for another round of discussions He proposed new suggestions and altered the earlier MoU signed by the Oommen Chandy government On 13 May 2007 the officials of the Government of Kerala and TECOM Investments signed the updated framework agreement 7 8 Then for the next four years the project was in a standstill mode due to few unresolved differences between state government and TECOM The main hurdle was TECOM s demand for selling rights on the 12 free hold land Government was ready to give the 12 free hold land only inside the SEZ which made it impossible for TECOM to sell that portion to a third party under the SEZ policy by the Government of India These issues were resolved on 2 February 2011 in a meeting between Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and His Excellency Ahamed Humaid Al Tayer member of the Supreme Fiscal Committee for Dubai World Group and Dubai Holding Group UAE This breakthrough was arrived as a result of the mediation by the Vice Chairman of Norka Roots and a renowned businessman from the state M A Yousuf Ali 9 Progress of the project edit nbsp The inaugural IT building SCK 01 in Phase 1After the breakthrough on the disputes in February 2011 the project has gained momentum and is in the construction stages now Construction of SmartCity was launched by the Chief Minister Mr Oommen Chandy on 8 October 2011 in a glittering event held at site The SmartCity Experience Pavilion which locates the offices for the administrative and project management team was launched on 9 June 2012 The Phase I of the project was inaugurated on February 20 2016 by the then Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy 5 Ministry of Commerce have granted a single SEZ status for entire 246 acres of land in December 2011 There were few issues in getting a single SEZ status as the land is separated by a waterbody Approval for the project as a single SEZ was important to avail the benefits of a multi purpose SEZ 10 The first phase which started operations in May 2016 involves a four storied building with 6 50 000 sq ft space which is one of India s largest LEED Platinum rated IT buildings The second phase which includes development in excess of 6 million sq ft is currently in progress and expected to be completed by 2021 The development is carried out with the support of various co developers who have signed agreements with SmartCity Kochi Sands Infra a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi based LuLu Group is constructing 32 storied twin towers which are slated to become India s tallest IT towers The development encompasses 3 7 million sq ft of built up area with the potential to generate jobs in excess of 30 000 when fully occupied Further developments include the construction of 1 2 million sq ft of built up space across the two towers by Bangalore based Prestige Group 1 5 million sq ft by Dubai based Holiday Group 4 00 000 sq ft by Maratt Ltd and a modern school with the capacity to accommodate over 3000 students by Dubai based GEMS Education world s largest private provider of K 12 education Phases three four and five are also under discussion as the potential investors are planning to build ready to move in residential plots with an estimated amount of Rs 4000 crore 11 Buildings in SmartCity Building Phase Available Size Year of commissionOperationalSCK 01 1 650 000 sq ft 60 400 m2 2016GEMS Modern Academy 2 200 000 sq ft 18 600 m2 2019MariApps 1 120 000 sq ft 11 100 m2 2021Under ConstructionSands Infinite 1 3 700 000 sq ft 343 700 m2 2022Prestige Cyber Green 1 1 1 200 000 sq ft 111 500 m2 2022Maratt IT Tower 1 360 000 sq ft 33 400 m2 2022Under PlanningHoliday Group IT Tower 1 1 470 000 sq ft 136 600 m2 2023Agreement editAccording to the agreement signed by the Government of Kerala and Tecom investments the project expects an investment of 2000 Crore The project would be spread over 246 acres 99 6 ha On completion SmartCity Kochi would be one of the largest IT parks in the country The project is expected to have minimum 8 800 000 sq ft 820 000 m2 of built up space with a minimum of 6 200 000 sq ft 580 000 m2 set aside for IT ITES allied services It was to be the first SmartCity project in India and second in the world by the Tecom Investments group 12 Location and connectivity editSmartCity Kochi is located approximately 12 kilometres 7 mi from downtown Kochi and 22 kilometres 14 mi from the Cochin International Airport It is located in Kakkanad which is the Ernakulam district headquarters The project site is located adjacent to InfoPark Kochi one of the state owned IT parks in Kerala The presence of InfoPark SmartCity KINFRA Park etc makes the region of Kakkanad a very important center for IT ITES in the state of Kerala PeakAir Pvt Ltd handles a major portion of the data traffic inside SmartCity and has a Data Center inside SmartCity which provides the park with 100 uptime data connectivity Other major bandwidth providers such as Vodafone Tata Communications BSNL Reliance Bharti Airtel and Power Grid Corporation of India are also present in the park See also editDubai Internet City SmartCity Malta Infopark Kochi Electronics City Kochi Cyber City KochiReferences edit a b c FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT kerala gov in 2007 05 13 Agreement reached on SmartCity project Thehindu com 2011 02 02 Retrieved on 2012 09 12 Kerala Tecom end uncertainty over SmartCity Kochi Thepeninsulaqatar com 2011 02 03 Retrieved on 2012 09 12 Smart City Kochi 100 000 jobs likely Rediff com 2004 11 23 Retrieved on 2012 09 12 a b SmartCity Kochi inaugurated The Hindu Retrieved 5 November 2017 SmartCity Malta inauguration Timesofmalta com 2006 12 06 Retrieved on 2012 09 12 Government of Kerala TECOM sign lease deal for SmartCity Kochi GulfNews MoU for Smart City inked Khaleejtimes com 2005 09 10 Retrieved on 2012 09 12 Decks cleared for Kochi infotech project Indiavision com 2011 02 02 Retrieved on 2012 09 12 Single SEZ status for Smartcity PDF Retrieved on 2012 09 12 Activating infrastructure Smart City Kochi The Economic Times Smart City Project Agreement signed kerala gov in 2007 04 14 External links editDubai Holding official website Dubai SmartCity official website Archived 26 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine10 00 29 N 76 22 16 E 10 008 N 76 371 E 10 008 76 371 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title SmartCity Kochi amp oldid 1152973119, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
