The next meeting of the board of directors may prove crucial for SmartCity Kochi, the much-touted IT project of the State, in the wake of a major organisational restructuring at Dubai Holding, which has taken direct control of the project.
SmartCity Kochi, a joint venture of the State government and Tecom Group, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, has been envisaged as an IT / ITES Special Economic Zone spread over 246 acres. According to the original Framework Agreement, the promoters should create a minimum of 8.8 million sq ft of built-up space, out of which at least 6.4 million sq ft should be specifically set apart for IT / ITES / allied services, generating 90,000 jobs in the process.
The organisational shake-up also resulted in sweeping changes in the SmartCity Kochi management, with interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Baju George and Vice Chairman Jaber Bin Hafez being eased out of their positions. Khalid Almalik, the Chief Real Estate Officer of Dubai Holding, was appointed as the interim CEO of SmartCity Kochi, a change that may now have to be ratified by the SmartCity Kochi Board.
SmartCity Kochi, the foundation stone of which was laid with much fanfare in November 2007 and was supposed to be completed in 10 years, had run into one roadblock after another owing to a slew of deadlines fixed along the way and then violated without fail.
Initially, it was about the promoters’ freehold rights on 12% land, while the State government termed it a delaying tactic to cover up their sorry financial state due to the global recession.
The issue of freehold rights was sorted out towards the fag end of then LDF government, only for the project to slip into slumber yet again following the Assembly elections in 2011. The next government led by Oommen Chandy set a two-year deadline for the completion of the first phase, which was then extended by another 18 months initially and two years subsequently.
Even as the renewed deadline fell by the wayside, a meeting of the board of directors of SmartCity Kochi decided to remove then CEO Gigo Joseph and appointed Mr. George as interim CEO.
Mr. George was asked to shift base to Kochi to get the project back on track. It was after that the project gathered some momentum, and the first phase was commissioned on February 20, 2016.
