Tecom cannot dictate the government were to sign and what not to do:Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac

Coming down heavily upon the Tecom authorities, the main promoters of SmartCity project., Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac said, the Tecom cannot dictate the government were to sign and what not to do.
Thomas Isaac said, the Tecom is putting some fresh demands and the LDF government is not liable to heed to each demand put forward by Tecom

Thomas Isaac said, like the UDF government the LDF will not succumb to pressure tactics.
Minister said, the government is committed to implement the project and the project will materialize at the same place where it was planned
Thomas Isaac added that, the project was bought to Kochi after several rounds of discussion at various levels.

Last week, Kodiyeri BalakrishnanMinister of Home Affairs had said that, the government would look for “other options” if Smart City Dubai, the developer of the proposed Rs.1,500-crore ($300 million) IT project, did not resolve its differences with the state and start construction soon.

Chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan had laid the foundation stone of the project Nov 16, 2007, but there has been no progress since then.The project has hit a road block with over the issue of giving 12 percent freehold land to the Dubai firm.
The government has given a special economic zone status for 136 acres of the project.
But it has neither completed the registration of the land nor settled a contentious stamp duty issue.

Last month, a two-day meeting between state government officials and a Dubai team failed to break the deadlock.

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Kerala Pressurising Tecom to start Work Smart City Soon

Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan Monday said the government would look for "other options" if Smart City Dubai, the developer of the proposed Rs.1,500-crore ($300 million) IT project, did not resolve its differences with the state and start construction soon.
"The government is committed to the project and if they (Smart City Dubai) don't solve the issues then we will look for other options," Balakrishnan said while speaking at an election campaign near here.


The project, to be jointly launched by the state government and Smart City Dubai, is slated to come up on a 246-acre plot with 8.8 million square feet of built-up space, of which 70 percent is earmarked for IT and IT-enabled services.


Chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan had laid the foundation stone of the project Nov 16, 2007, but there has been no progress since then.


The project has hit a road block with over the issue of giving 12 percent freehold land to the Dubai firm.


The government has given a special economic zone status for 136 acres of the project.


But it has neither completed the registration of the land nor settled a contentious stamp duty issue.


Last month, a two-day meeting between state government officials and a Dubai team failed to break the deadlock.

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18 hole Golf course in Nedumbassery by CIAL

A 18-hole Country Club golf course developed by the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) on its land would be inaugurated before December 2009, CIAL officials have said. The process to induct members will begin within two months.

The golf course is built on a property adjacent to the airport, and it will be the largest golf course in the State. The course will embrace five aqua patches covering 60 sq m and a playing area of over 7,200 yards with ‘Bermuda tidwarf on the greens and Bermuda 419 on fairways and trees.’


The cost of the project has been brought down to Rs.18 crore from the initial estimate of Rs. 56 crore by reworking the total investment in a phased manner and adopting a low-cost construction model. The company proposes the use of plants, including medicinal plants and shrubs endemic to the region, in the spaces between the fairways as part of reducing costs. “The cost reduction has been made possible by reworking the total investment proposal and by adopting traditional architecture and indigenous inputs. At the same time, we have ensured that resorting to traditional methods do not in any way affect the standard of facilities provided,” said a senior airport official. He said the company was planning to launch the initial phase of the project to generate income for further expansion works so that a full-fledged operation could be started within the next few years.

Yet to hear from TECOM about their Final Stand: S. Sarma

Fisheries Minister S. Sarma said that the government was yet to hear from TECOM, the Dubai-based promoters of the SmartCity Project in Kochi, about their final stand on issues discussed at the conference held at Kovalam recently to end the imbroglio over the project.

The State government had taken the stand that while the land sought by them as free hold could be given, it would not grant them the right to sell the land. The promoters wanted the right to sell the land.

However, the government stuck to the terms of the original agreement. They had stated that they would communicate their final decision on the issue after reaching Dubai.

The Minister, who is heading the joint sector company formed to implement the project, said that the government wanted the issue to be decided soon. It had not fixed any cut-off date and had not thought of alternatives. The Cabinet would discuss Chief Secretary Neela Gangadharan’s report on the talks next week.

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