SmartCity Kochi first phase inauguration in over a month's time

KOCHI:The inauguration of the first IT complex of Rs 2000 crore SmartCity Kochi, a IT special economic zone, will be held at the end of August or in September. The construction of 6.5 lakh sq ft building is nearing completion, Kerala chief secretary Jiji Thomson said on Friday.

The SmartCity project which envisages a total of 8.8 million sq ft. of built-up space, was recently in the news with the resignation of its CEO Gigi Joseph. The construction of the SmartCity Kochi began four years ago and the inauguration of the first building was postponed several times.

According to Thomson there are several problems confronting the project like encroachment, power supply issues etc, which will be solved quickly to facilitate the progress of the project which has been slow in take off. He said road leading to the project will be repaired and widened .

"However, these problems have not affected the construction work. Around 40% of the space in the first building has already been booked," said Baju George, managing director of SmartCity Kochi. The first building is expected to provide employment to 6000.

SmartCity Kochi is a joint venture of Tecom Investments, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, which holds 84% share and Kerala government, which has a share of 16%. The project when completed is expected to generate 90,000 jobs.