Muthoot Grp plans Rs 60 cr investments in Kochi

Kochi, Nov 15: The Muthoot Pappachan Group (MPG) today announced plans to invest Rs 60 crore in a residential complex near Nedumbasserry International Airport and a budget hotel for providing support facilities for the IT sector in Kakkanad here.

Addressing a press conference here on the occasion of the formal launching of the 'Muthoot Technopolis' IT park in the Cochin Special Economic Zone (CSEZ), MPG Managing Director George Muthoot said that the group had asked the CSEZ for another two acres of land for the second phase of Muthoot Technopolis.

He said that almost 60 per cent of the space in 'Muthoot Technopolis I', spread over 2.5 acres, had been leased out. While Wipro and Sutherland were already functioning from the complex, two new clients, Cognizant and Williams Lea, would start their operations in a month's time.

Talks were on with five other companies for leasing out the remaining space, he added.

Mr George said the MPG had invested Rs 45 crore in developing the seven-storied 'Muthoot Technopolis', which has a total built-up area of about 355,000 sq ft..

Stating that MPG was the first co-developer with a government SEZ, he said that the 'Muthoot Technopolis' had become a role model for public private partnership in an SEZ.

Regarding the company's future plans, he said the group had acquired eight acres of land near the Nedumbasserry Airport to develop an IT park. However, with the Cochin International Airport Ltd. (CIAL) announcing plans to start an IT park in the area, the MPG would develop a residential complex near the airport.

A budget hotel and support facilities for IT in the Kakkanad area, where the proposed Smart City is due to come up alongside the Infopark, were also being planned, he added.

Company Director Thomas Muthoot said Kochi was situated well to ride the IT boom in the Tier II and Tier III cities. While earlier there were reservations among IT companies to move to Kerala, today they were all looking to make Kochi their next port of call, he added.

The 'Muthoot Technopolis', being situated in an SEZ area, enjoyed several advantages such as ten-year exemption from corporate income tax, exemption from service tax and stamp duty, self-certification for labour laws, duty-free imports and exemption of central excise duty on procurement of capital goods, raw materials and spares from the domestic market, he added.

UNI