Smart City Kochi on course: Official

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA: The proposed Rs.5,000 crore Smart City Kochi mega IT project will be ready on time, a top official said Monday.

Speaking to reporters here, Baju George, managing director of Smart City Kochi, said the entire project would be ready in five-and-half years' time.

"The first phase of the building would be ready in 20 months once the construction starts shortly. In the brief period that we have been working on this project we have found out how we can speed up things," said George.

Smart City Kochi is being built by Smart City Dubai. The ground- breaking ceremony was held in October last year.

"Smart City Kochi Pavilion will project future Smart City concepts and the Pavilion will have 6,000 square feet area which will house the management office for Smart City Kochi. The work is going on and we are only a few weeks behind in it," added George.

When completed, Smart City Kochi would provide 90,000 jobs, potentially transforming Kerala into an investment destination of choice.

"Already we have started talks with leading IT companies who have expressed their desire to open here. We are confident that we will finish according to our schedule," said George.

The project area is to come up in a 250 acre campus for which it has been given the special economic zone status.