The Hindu 12.04.2013
Master plan approved, SmartCity to get going
Construction work to begin in full swing before July: MD
A meeting of the Board of Directors of SmartCity Kochi
held in Dubai on Thursday approved the master plan for the first phase
paving way for the construction work for the project to get off the
ground.
Baju George, SmartCity (India) managing director, told
The Hindu
over phone that the master plan for 50 acres had been approved by the board to avoid further delay in the construction work.
Preparation of the master plan for the rest of the land will be done as the construction work progresses.
Eight
buildings spread over 15 lakh sq. ft are proposed to come up on 50
acres, of which 9 lakh sq. ft. will be dedicated to Information
Technology (IT) and the rest to non-IT purposes.
Signature building
“The
construction of the first building on 4 lakh sq. ft. at an investment
of about Rs.200 crore will be launched before July 1 and will be
completed within 18 months,” Mr. George said.
Meanwhile,
the promoters are planning a signature building on a hilly area in the
project site. “It will be an iconic building hosting facilities like the
experience pavilion and innovation centre.
The
concept design for the proposed building has been drawn up. Since it is a
complicated structure, the final design will be readied and
construction will be started within another six months,” Mr. George
said.
Initially, two buildings with a combined
built-up space of 3 lakh sq.ft were proposed in the first phase. The
design for the buildings was shortlisted from four participants through a
design competition.
The eventual choice was
finalised by the executive committee and the director board based on the
technical recommendation of the Bangalore-based project consultant.
However,
the board felt that a bigger building was needed and hence the concept
of two buildings was replaced by one large building.
The
board meeting was attended by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Minister
for Information Technology P.K. Kunhalikutty, IT Principal Secretary
P.H. Kurian, Norka Roots vice-chairman M.A. Yousuf Ali, Dubai Holdings
Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Bin Byat, and SmartCity Kochi
vice-chairman Abdul Latheef Al Mulla.
Following the
board meeting Mr. Chandy met UAE Prime Minister and Vice President
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Mr. Chandy’s invitation for the
inauguration of the first building was accepted by Mr. Al Maktoum.
SmartCity
had held a couple of meetings in the city in the last three months in
the run up to the launch of construction work by the middle of this
year. A one-day workshop attended by all stakeholders including
government departments was conducted on January 31 to fine tune the
master plan and incorporate the changes before finalising it.
This was followed by a kick-off meeting attended by the project consultant at the project site on March 22.