Kerala - Kochi   

‘Smart City project will boost economic growth’

KOCHI: The high cost of operation and congestion in tier-I cities have made potential investors take a second look at green field areas like Kochi. The decision of the Dubai-based Tecom Investment FZ-LLC to set up Smart City here has paved the way for others to fall in line. Kerala also offers an excellent talent pool of science and engineering graduates.

The State has the highest density of science and technology personnel in the country, with about 25,000 engineering graduates a year from eight universities in the State. The lowest employee attrition rate of less than five per cent, centres of excellence such as the Indian Institute of Management (Kozhikode), Indian Institute of Information Technology & Management – Kerala, etc., are the other reasons for IT companies to set up shop here, it is pointed out.

A KSIDC publication exudes optimism that Kerala would soon become a choice destination for IT companies. Software exports from Kerala crossed Rs.700 crore in 2006-07, up by 50 per cent compared to 33 per cent at the national level. With infrastructure developers such as L&T, the Leela Group, Sobha Developers, Cochin International Airport Ltd. and the Muthoot Group launching ventures in the State, Kerala is poised for ‘big ticket’ development, say experts.

Smart City is a joint outcome of the State Government and the Dubai-based Tecom Investments, builders of industrial infrastructure. The project envisages building an 8.8 million sq. ft. facility here. It has given an impetus to IT majors to set shop here. Infosys Technologies, the major in Indian IT services industry, has broken ground to set up its development centre on a 50-acre campus at Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram. Wipro has almost completed the first phase of its one-million sq. ft. development centre at Infopark in Kochi. NeST, Kerala’s own multinational, has started work on a one-million sq. ft. facility at Kinfra Park in Kochi for its hardware manufacturing business. Cognizant Technologies, one of the fastest growing Indian IT majors, has opened its development centre in Kochi.

Smart City, one of the biggest FDIs in the IT infrastructure sector in the country with a total investment of Rs. 1,700 crore, will come up on a 246-acre plot. It will have at least 6.21 million sq. ft. dedicated to IT-related units.

The Smart City is expected to do what the TIDEL Park did for the IT industry in Tamil Nadu and HitTec City in Andhra Pradesh. The 1.3-million sq. ft. TIDEL, India’s second largest IT facility, was set up in 2000. IT exports from the State rose dramatically since then: from Rs. 1,246 crore in 1999, it more than doubled to Rs. 3,116 crore in 2001 and then to Rs. 14,115 crore in 2005-06. Hi-Tec City, a one-million sq. ft. facility, was launched in 1998. Today, Hyderabad has the presence of all the IT majors across the globe. Though late to come up, Smart City is a behemoth in size compared to the other two. With ‘Technocity,’ another project on IT infrastructure coming up in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is certain to become an investment destination for IT companies, says the KSIDC publication.

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