Kerala CM to decide on $1.2bln Kochi Smart City

Dubai, Sep 24 (UNI) After a four member Kerala Government delegation could not reach an amicable agreement with Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority (TECOM) on 1.2 billion dollars IT park in Kochi, Smart City, its now upto the state Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan to take a decision on it.

The team held discussions with TECOM on the price of land to be issued for the project, lease period, lease amount, authority's demand for more land near the park, and the number of job opportunities to be created by Dubai Internet City (DIC) over a period of 10 years put forward by the state government.

The team was expected to brief the chief minister about the details of the discussions today, according to the sources.

''TECOM has insisted that Kerala should make available the required land at the same price as was agreed upon when the project was initiated nearly two years ago,'' they said.

Mr Achuthanandan -- a staunch opponent of the embattled IT project when he was the opposition leader -- to make the crucial policy decision on certain contentious issues, including price of the land to be acquired for the project and guarantee for creating a specific number of jobs, they added.

The smart city would need around 1,000 acres of land when it reaches the final stages of the proejct.

Other key issues, on which the agreement was still to be reached, included a lack of proper government representation in Smart City's Board of Directors.

The project was expected to create more than one lakh new jobs in the first stage and around five Lakhs jobs directly and indirectly in the last stage. It would also provide critical infrastructure for IT services and IT-enabled service companies.

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