An IT corridor in the capital
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The Technopark has created the need for an IT corridor.
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An information technology (IT) corridor can be defined as a transport axis along which there is a concentration of IT and IT-enabled-services (ITES) industries.
In most cases, this longitudinal concentration comes about owing to structural elements, such as transport corridors along which IT parks start to develop for a variety of reasons, such as ease of access and availability of land.
Subsequently, the development of the corridor is often accelerated by the government and the industry, as in the case of the Chennai IT Corridor or along Hosur Road in Bangalore. Typically, these growth corridors see increased investment in transport, power supply, water supply, sewerage and communication infrastructure.
Transport capacity can be boosted through better roads and mass transit systems. The governments tend to give developmental sops on both sides of the corridor, such as an increased floor area ratio (FAR) and coverage, as well as engage sometimes in land banking.
The dream of an IT corridor remains elusive for Thiruvananthapuram, though the capital city has emerged as the hub of Kerala’s emerging IT/ITES industry.
Emerging IT Hub
The Technopark campus at Kazhakkuttam has become the seed to the IT corridor concept, with the National Highway 47 stretch up to Thonnakkal forming the corridor. From a single project, Technopark Phase I, the IT corridor started taking shape with the setting up of the KINFRA Film and Video Park at Kazhakkuttam and the KINFRA International Apparel Park at Menamkulam.
The 86-acre Phase II campus of Technopark kick-started the next phase of development. The proposed Telecom City project, a joint venture between SIDCO and ITI to be located at Menamkulam, is another major project slated to come up on the axis.
The International Convention Centre Complex (ICCC) at Aakulam and the 400-kV Power Grid substation at Kaniyapuram will be part of the support infrastructure.
The 88-acre Technopark Phase III, located between phases I and II, will create over 4 million square feet of space. Impressive as it sounds, it will be dwarfed by the next phase of Technopark’s development, Technocity. A mammoth project, it will be spread over 450 acres and eventually have 10 to 15 million square feet of business space. Finally, capping off the corridor is the 250-acre life sciences park being developed by the KSIDC at Thonnakkal to accommodate biotechnology firms, health-care facilities and pharmaceutical companies.
Technopark Phase III will be completed by 2014 and Technocity by 2018, together adding a whopping 14 to 20 million square feet of business space and 2,00,000 direct jobs.
This will also mean a massive demand for residential, commercial and retail spaces across the area.
Need for infrastructure
The unprecedented level of development being witnessed along the IT corridor warrants a coherent strategy to promote the growth. While this stretch of NH-47 is about to gets four lanes, the State could gain by lobbying for a six- or eight-lane width to accommodate future traffic volumes.
Utilities such as water supply and sewerage need to be developed along the corridor to cater to the needs of up to a million people. Another urgent need is to create a land bank along the corridor to provide space for expansion and to preclude land-grabbing.
Planning guidelines reflecting the urgent and intensive development in the corridor have to be framed, especially with respect to critical parameters such as FAR.
Successive governments in Kerala have failed to formulate a policy for the IT Corridor. Indeed, it has not even been formally delineated yet.
This needs to be urgently taken up to ensure that a repeat of the chaos seen in Bangalore or Chennai owing to unregulated development does not take place in Thiruvananthapuram. There are even more ambitious plans for the growth corridor, including an extension to the upcoming deepwater port at Vizhinjam.
Further, the proposed Ring Road from Mangalapuram to Balaramapuram (via Venjaramoodu and Nedumangad) may be integrated with the existing corridor to provide scope for a major expansion. In short, this stretch of high-tech hubs may determine the future of not just Thiruvananthapuram but also the whole of Kerala.
AJAY PRASAD
The author works with a leading property developer. He is an alumnus of the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram and IIM, Kolkata, and has a keen interest in urban development and planning. He maintains an active blog on the subject at http://tvmrising.blogspot. com
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