Tecom sent a letter responding to Government of Kerala's letter

Tecom sent a letter responding to Government of Kerala's letter Regarding Smartcity Kochi

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Update!

SmartCity, the Dubai-based promoters of the proposed knowledge hub project in the city, has replied to the letter the State government had sent earlier this month. A post on the company's twitter account stated that “SmartCity [has] sent a letter responding to Government of Kerala's letter.” The letter had reportedly asked the promoters to reply within 15 days. SmartCity authorities, however, had asked for time. Fisheries Minister S. Sarma, who is also the Chairman of SmartCity Kochi, could not be contacted for information on the content of the letter.

Smart city Kochi board meeting held in Kochi today

The Dubai-based promoters’ response to the recent government letter will decide the fate of the proposed SmartCity Kochi project, said Fisheries and Registration Minister S. Sarma.

Talking to reporters after one of the briefest director board meetings of the project here on Monday, Mr. Sarma, who is also the chairman of SmartCity Kochi, said that the next meeting of the Cabinet will decide on the additional time sought by SmartCity to reply to the letter.

The government had sought a reply within 15 days to the letter it had send early this month asking the promoters to take immediate steps to launch the project. The Chief Executive Officer of SmartCity Fareed Abdulrahman, however, wrote to the chief secretary asking for time till the end of this month.

Mr. Sarma said that the meeting was held to comply with the statutory requirement under the Companies Act and did not discuss any issues like the prospects of a legal battle.

Later, addressing a press conference Mr. Abdulrahman said that the company would response before the end of this month. Asked about the purported delay in replying, he said that SmartCity had taken the letter seriously and wanted the reply to be very “realistic.”

“We want the reply to include the best solutions and recommendations to take the project forward. Pointing fingers and repeatedly stating the problems would never take us anywhere,” the CEO said. He, however, said that the response to the letter “not necessarily” see a change in the company’s stand on outstanding issues.

While expressing optimism about the project, Mr. Abdulrahman, however, said that SmartCity was on a sound legal footing if things ended up in a court of law. The confidence, he said, was borne out of the framework agreement which was clear about the obligations of both the partners.

He said that SmartCity was committed to its Kochi project for it was bigger than the issues surrounding it.

Smart City Kochi: Tecom asked more time for sending a reply

Dubai-based promoters TECOM (Dubai Commerce Technology and Media Free Zone Authority) on Saturday asked the Kerala government for granting sufficient time for sending a reply to the letter by State Government in Smart City project issue. Tecom has also written a letter to the government in this regard.

Earlier report

Smart City CEO Fareed Abdul Rehman has made it clear that a reply in connection with the much-expected Smart city project would be handed over to the State government within 30th of this month.

Elucidating the company’s stance, the CEO said that they would give reply after only consulting with experts regarding the same. It would have the reply for all the suspicions put forward by the government.

If a positive response was not obtained from the government, further decision on the same would be taken later, he added. Adding a note, he said that the company had already spend more than Rs. 100 Crores for the project.

The State cabinet on September 02 decided to serve a notice to TECOM in connection with the Smart City project. In the notice, the government will inform their unwillingness to accede to the demand of TECOM wanting 12 % freehold land. If a reply is not received within 10 days, the government will consider that TECOM has withdrawn from the project.

Smartcity Kochi:Tecom to attend director board meet

A meeting of the board of directors of the proposed SmartCity Kochi project will be held at Ramada Resorts on September 20.

The meeting is scheduled to meet the statutory requirements under the Companies Act, which call for convening a director board meeting once every three months. The last director board meeting was held on June 28.

The meeting is unlikely to invoke much enthusiasm on either side as most of the previous meetings failed to produce any tangible outcome to lift the project from the depths into which it had fallen over many contentious issues including that of the right of freehold over 12 per cent land to SmartCity, the Dubai-based promoters of the project.

In fact, it is learned that, the fate of the meeting was uncertain initially as neither parties were sure about the participation of the other. There had been no significant development on the project for the last two years since the disagreement between the promoters and the government cropped up.

Tecom to respond soon about Smart city Kochi

Tecom CEO Fareed Abdul Rehman has made it clear that a reply in connection with the much expected Smart city project would be handed over to the State government within 30th of this month.

Elucidating the company’s stance, the CEO said that they would give reply after only consulting with experts regarding the same. It would have the reply for all the suspicions put forward by the government. If a positive response was not obtained from the government, further decision on the same would be taken later, he added.
Adding a note, he said that the company had already spend more than Rs. 100 Crores for the project.

Earlier report

The State cabinet on last Thursday decided to serve a notice to TECOM in connection with the Smart City project.

In the notice, the government will inform their unwillingness to accede to the demand of TECOM wanting 12 % freehold land. If a reply is not received within 10 days, the government will consider that TECOM has withdrawn from the project.

Govt to serve notice to TECOM:Smart City Kochi

The State cabinet on Thursday decided to serve a notice to TECOM in connection with the Smart City project.

In the notice, the government will inform their unwillingness to accede to the demand of TECOM wanting 12 % freehold land. If a reply is not received within 10 days, the government will consider that TECOM has withdrawn from the project.