Green signal to build Smart City office

KOCHI: After the first round of talks between Tecom and the state government, the office of Smart City Kochi for the preliminary work, including preparation of master plan and project office, will be set up near the proposed site or at InfoPark next month.A permanent office for marketing and other purposes will be set up at the Smart City site within three months. For the initial work around 60 professionals from various fields will be appointed soon. Baju George, CEO, Smart City, told Express that no changes have been made in the agreement with the government. A minimum built-up area of 88 lakh sq ft will be set up of which 70 per cent of space will be utilised for IT purposes and the rest for other services.As per the agreement, 67 lakh sq ft will be utilised for IT purpose.  The land will be developed as per the Special Economic Zone status given by the Union Government which specifies that 50 per cent of the land can be used for IT-enabled services.In the initial phase, Tecom will spend Rs 500 crore for the construction of 3.5 lakh sq ft of building which is expected to be completed by October 2012. The second phase will also start simultaneously, he said. Apart from IT services other institutions including insurance, banks, media and call centres can be accommodated on the rest of the area. When all supporting agencies for IT industry are under one roof, more companies can be attracted to Smart City Kochi.Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and IT Minister P K Kunhalikutty held discussions with Tecom CEO Abdullateef Al Mulla and Baju George along with NRI businessman M A Yousuf Ali on Thursday. The Smart City proposal first came up in 2006 and its foundation stone was laid four years ago. However, the work failed to take off following differences between the state government and Tecom over the issue of freehold right over a part of the land.