Work on SmartCity Kochi project to begin by year-end
By siliconindia   |   Friday, 20 June 2008, 00:53 IST
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Malta: Work will be launched on SmartCity Kochi, the integrated township with a SEZ for knowledge-based industries, by the year-end, according to Fareed Abdulrahman, Chief Executive Officer, SmartCity (Dubai) FZ-LLC. A proposed 250-acre facility, the project involves over $350 million investments to create a modern township with residential, commercial and office space for IT, ITeS and knowledge-based industries that would generate over 90,000 jobs. The SmartCity Kochi has the SEZ approval for a 100-acre parcel of land and has been asked by the authorities to submit a separate application for an adjacent portion, separated by a water body. The company is particular that the project is approved as a single SEZ, and is willing to accept whatever conditions are laid down - such as linking the two parcels of land with a tunnel or a bridge for them to be considered a contiguous area. The company is awaiting the decision from Indian authorities, he said. SmartCity Kochi has over 236 acres of land available with it and will acquire the balance to make up the 250 acres planned for the project, he said. The other project is planned in Kochi, where it has promoted a joint venture with the State Government. He said these projects are modeled along the lines of SmartCity's Dubai Internet City, an industry cluster and free zone for ICT companies; the Dubai Media City, a facility providing infrastructure for broadcasting, publishing and advertising companies; and Dubai Knowledge Village, a campus for learning and training.