New player pitches in for Kochi IT park

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 26 : With the proposed Smart City IT park in Kochi hanging fire for over two years, a new group Thursday expressed interest in executing the Rupees 1,500-crore project.

Kerala-based Muthoot Pappachan Group (MPG) has written to the state government, saying it was prepared to take up the project on "revised terms and conditions".

The foundation stone for the IT city was laid in November 2007, but there has been no progress since then due to unresolved issues between the government and developer Smart City Dubai.

MPG director Thomas John Muthoot told IANS Thursday that a board meeting of the group held two months back had okayed a proposal to join the Smart City project.

"We have written to the chief minister (V.S. Achuthanandan), saying we are prepared to take up the project on revised terms and conditions," Muthoot said.

"The general structure of the proposal that we first submitted in March 2007 would remain the same."

According to this proposal, the Kerala government would have 26 percent stake and non-resident Keralites 23 percent, while the rest will be held by MPG.

It also said the company would require 200 acres and give Rs.90 lakh per acre for a 99-year lease, and construct 20 million square feet space, with the first phase to be completed in 24 months.

"The nitty-gritty will be worked out once the government shows a positive signal," Muthoot said.

"There will be some changes in our earlier proposal because the current situation is not as rosy as it had been in 2007. But there would be no change in the share holding pattern," he added.

MPG has to its credit a state-of-the-art IT facility at Kochi where it built 3.55 lakh square feet space, now occupied by five IT companies.

This new development comes at a time when Achuthanandan has repeatedly challenged the financial health of Smart City Dubai.

The government also says the Dubai-based company is now raising new demands that were not part of the framework agreement signed between the two sides.

Challenging the government's claims, Smart City Dubai had Wednesday said it was committed to the project and invited the chief minister to Dubai to see its operations.

According to it, the project did not take off as the government is yet to complete the registration of the allotted land and settle a contentious stamp duty issue.

According to reports, there is going to be one last round of talks between the government and Smart City Dubai and if things do not change, the government will likely ask them to pull out.

Achuthanandan had Wednesday told reporters here that Smart City would "certainly be a reality" even if the developer pulled out.