Slowdown may hit Smart City project in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA: Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said on Wednesday that the global economic slowdown may delay the launch of the Rs.15 billion Smart City project in Kochi.

The proposed project, to be jointly launched by the state government and the Dubai-based infrastructure major Smart City, is slated to come up on a 246-acre plot with 8.8 million square feet of built-up space. 70 per cent of this space is earmarked for IT and IT-enabled services.

As per reports, Achuthanandan said Smart City Dubai may not have the required funds due to the financial crunch, alleging that the infrastructure major was making 'undeserving demands'.

However, the Chief Minister did not elaborate on what the demands were.