Fate of Kochi IT park project hangs in balance

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - The fate of the proposed Rs.1,500 crore IT park in Kochi to be built by Dubai-based developer Smart City Dubai will be decided at a board of directors meeting later this month.

The Kerala government is adamant that no freehold rights over the project would be given to the builder as such a clause does not exist in the original agreement between the two parties.

The meeting will take place in Kochi on March 29.

This meeting is not an unscheduled one; instead this date was fixed at the last board meeting held last year. But the meeting is a crucial in light of the recent developments, said a Smart City Dubai official, who did not wish to be identified.

Smart City Dubai had signed an agreement in 2007 to build a mega IT project on a 246 acre plot in Kochi, providing about 90,000 jobs. It has been demanding 12 percent freehold rights in the project area.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Wednesday said there is no freehold demand in the agreement. The developer had been told this could not be met.

–Indo Asian News Service