Decks have been cleared for the Information Technology sector to strike roots in the northernmost district of Kerala. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan on Friday laid the foundation stone for a Cyberpark at Cheemeni in Kasaragod.
The new campus will be the first spoke part under Cyberpark, Kozhikode, which was recently established to act as the hub for development of the IT/ITeS sector in the northern region. It will be developed in 100 acres of land, of which 25 acres will be developed initially as an IT/ITES-specific Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The first building to come up here will cover 1.50 lakh sq.ft. and will generate employment for over 2,000 professionals. The second spoke of Cyberpark, Kozhikode, is scheduled to come up in Kannur.
“With Cyberpark Kasaragod, the IT sector in Kerala can now tap into the large pool of locally available skilled resources and reputed educational institutions not just in North Malabar but also from Dakshina Kannada. It has the potential to provide employment opportunities on a large scale and contribute to the economic development of the State, especially the Malabar region,” said Dr. Ajay Kumar, Principal Secretary, IT.
Binu Pazhoor, CEO, Cyberpark, Kozhikode, said: “Our objective is to set up a state-of-the-art facility in Kasaragod equivalent to any IT park in the world. The Cyberpark campus here will have self-contained facilities required for modern day living, eco-friendly buildings with energy efficient layouts and interiors, fully furnished incubators to support start-up SME initiatives, a variety of recreation facilities and adequate eco parks, banks, ATMs, food courts, waste collection and disposal systems, emergency management systems, reprography centres, rainwater harvesting, and 100 per cent back up for electricity.”
The campus is less than 150 km from the international airports in Mangalore and Kozhikode. The completion of the fourth international airport in Kerala at Mattannur in Kannur district will improve accessibility by air.
Under the hub and spoke model of development adopted by Kerala, Technopark-Thiruvananthapuram, Infopark-Kochi and Cyberpark-Kozhikode will act as the hubs while satellite centres are being developed in Kollam, Ambalapuzha, Cherthala, Thrissur, Kannur and Kasaragod.
