The first building at SmartCity Kochi will be inaugurated before June 1.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said here on Friday that work on the platinum-rated first building, with built-up space of nearly 6.5 lakh sq. ft and located in 11 acres, would be completed before March 15.
Announcing the decisions of the director board meeting of the company, Mr. Chandy said work on the second building would begin next year. Development of road, electricity supply and canal beautification would be completed in a time-bound manner.
Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty said over 6,000 direct jobs would be generated once the first building was open. A marketing campaign would be launched to attract big IT companies in cities such as Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai to SmartCity.
P.H. Kurien, Principal Secretary for Information Technology, said the director board meeting had approved a budget of Rs. 250 crore that would be spent before March. This included Rs. 150 crore for constructing the first building and Rs. 100 crore for development of roads and bridges and setting up allied infrastructure such as water and electricity supply.
Mr. Kurien said work on the second building, with a built-up space of 6.3 lakh sq. ft, would generate around 6,000 to 7,000 jobs. The co-developers would also begin the work on a school and two IT buildings next year, he said.
The Principal Secretary said three companies had signed agreements to occupy space in the first building, but refused to divulge the names owing to commercial and competitive reasons.
He admitted that big companies had not yet come on board.
Chief Executive Officer of SmartCity Abdul Latif Al-Mulla said the company would generate about 90,000 jobs as per the framework agreement with the government once the project was complete.
Gijo Joseph, Chief Executive Officer, said Dubai-based Gems Education group had agreed to set up a school in SmartCity. Discussions are on with a couple of players for setting up other support services but he refused to disclose the names.
