Smart City Kochi facess Financial Road-block
Smart City Dubai, a subsidiary of TECOM Investments, is mulling to construct a $316m IT super city in India following a local government official suggested the project had hit financial problems.
Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan declared the developers of Smart City Kochi faced financial problems, however the company's chief executive Fareed Abdulrahman hit back, claiming it was still devoted to the "very important project", analogous to Dubai Internet City, which aims to generate nearly 90,000 jobs.
In order to develop the Smart City Kochi, a major IT park, it would follow the conditions of the framework agreement it signed with the government.
Abdulrahman said in comments to the news agency Indo-Asia News Service, "We have the full support, financially, operationally and otherwise, from our parent company, TECOM Investments. We also wish to highlight our commitment towards our legal obligations as outlined in the framework agreement."
Abdulrahman added that the company was looking for better understanding and cooperation from their counterparts and partners.
The planned project is to be constructed on a 246-acre plot with 8.8 million square feet of space, of which 70 percent is assigned for IT and IT-enabled services.
In November 2007, the Chief Minister placed the foundation stone for the IT park; however the project has since delayed.
