KOCHI: The much-hyped Smart City project is likely to be shelved as the State Government is finding the demands put forward by the project promoter Tecom unacceptable.

"The Tecom is putting forth a fresh set of demands, including freehold on the land after deviating from the accepted Frame Work Agreement. The Government will not approve any deviation from the agreement," said Fisheries Minister S Sarma, who is also the chairman of the Smart City project.

The minister said that the promoter had put forward the demand even before implementing the masterplan. "Let us first work on the masterplan and then discuss the demands put forward by the Tecom.

The Government wants the project to be implemented.

We are ready for a discussion with the Tecom authorities, but provision for giving a free-hold on the land is not in the agreement.

A board meeting will be called soon to discuss the issue and amicably settle the differences," the minister added.:ohno:

Source
Expressbuzz.com

See the flash in the Home page of Puravankara...Kochi has more projects...
http://www.puravankara.com/

Also see Under construction pictures of all projects...intersting Eternity reaches 19th floor... :)

^^Cool.

Some update on Moonreach

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/7835/prmr.jpg

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/3230/prmr2.jpg

(C)Puravankara

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/5057/75440887.jpg

Cheers

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/5057/75440887.jpg

Cheers

Great news ................. kochi is gonna attract the most creamy section of tourists once this project is completed. With a 18 hole golf course @ nedumbassery & some world class shopping facilities like the LULU Mall U/C - Kochi is gonna turnaround the tourism story of Kerala.

So another 5 star hotel gonna get added to the dozen plus number of upcoming & u/c 5 star hotels.:) Truly fantastic

By the way Jadugar -- Please post the port related news in the dedicated thread also.:)

Tata Realty to have 2 projects in Kochi!!!!

Courtesy : PLUS Kochinow


Tatas to raise $1 bn for realty arm
28 May 2009, 0035 hrs IST, ET Bureau

Print EMail Discuss Share Save Comment Text:
MUMBAI: Tata Sons plans to raise $1 billion from overseas investors by December 2009 for its real estate arm Tata Realty and Infrastructure
(TRIL). Kishore Saletore, chief financial officer, TRIL, said,

“We are in talks with overseas investors and we would be raising $1 billion for realty and infrastructure projects
. TRIL plans to develop infrastructure and real estate projects of around Rs 20,000 crore within three years.”

The company had raised an offshore fund of $700 million some time ago and that would be used for projects worth Rs 11,000 crore. The $1 billion that would be raised is over and above the already raised $700 million.

A senior company official pointed out that around 70% of the total funding that has been raised would be used in developing projects in the residential space. Speaking to ET Suraj Kulkarni, head, business development, TRIL said, “We would be entering affordable housing space but would not be entering the segment where Tata Housing Development Company is present. Our target would be offering houses at a lower rate than the current market rate.”

TRIL is planning residential complexes at two places in Mumbai apart from two places in Bangalore, Kochi, Nagpur and Chennai. The company would be buying some land at some places and would enter into a JV at others. The company would be focusing more on real estate than on infrastructure, a senior official claimed.

“May be in about three years the real estate and infrastructure business could be separated into different companies,” the official told ET.

The company would also be developing real estate projects on the land parcels owned by the Tata Group. Sanjay Ubale, CEO, TRIL, said, “Tata group companies have many land parcels where we can develop projects. This could be done either through a JV or an SPV with the group companies.”

The long term real estate story of Kochi is truly rosy . Nowhere else in Kerala can we see the presence of so many realty biggies.:)

State to start Industrial Parks in Kerala @ Kochi , Calicut and Trivandrum ..
Courtesy Plus : Kochinow

Kochi received 400 applications ,
people wants in Kochi , but sadly the comies cant deliver ... so sad ....

http://news.keralakaumudi.com/news.php?nid=57cd59e78c498cbcb5f0da72e2879970

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/tecom-gives-time-till-dec-to-sort-outfreehold-land-issue/63406/on

Tecom gives time till Dec to sort out the freehold land issue

Dubai-based developers Tecom, whose IT project in Kochi — SmartCity — has run into rough weather over land issues, today demanded an assurance from the Kerala government that it would get freehold status for 39 acres of land by December this year.

"We are not asking for the freehold today or in six months time. We want a re-assurance from the government that the project would be entitled to the freehold status on the 39 acres, SmartCity CEO Fareed Abdulrahman told reporters here.

"The government has to assure us that whenever the masterplan is ready, we will get the freehold," he said.

Tecom has been demanding freehold states for 39 acres of the total 246 acres of land alloted to the Rs 1,500-crore project which envisages a potential to create 90,000 jobs.

Abdulrahman said they were insisting on freehold status as lots of foreign direct investment would be coming once the project gets going and they were only asking for a re-assurance from the government in this regard.

He said as of now they had no plans to shift the project to any other state. "We are very eager to start the project. We want to bring the IT infrastructure, create more jobs and bring business to the city and boost Kerala's economy," he said.

"The phase I of the Kochi project is on hold until there are positive signs," he said.Asked about Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan statement that the project was not taking off due to Tecom's financial constraints following the global downturn, Abdulrahman said he was not aware on what basis such statement had been made.

'The phase I of the Kochi project is on hold until there are 'positive signs',' he said.

Abdulrahman said they were insisting on freehold as lot of Foreign Direct Investment would be coming once the project gets going and they were only asking for a re-assurance from the government in this regard.

He said as of now they had no plans to shift the project to any other state. 'We are very eager to start the project. We want to bring IT infrastructure, create more jobs and bring business to the city and boost Kerala's economy,' he said.

The construction of the SmartCity project at Malta has begun and it was going smoothly, he said.

Asked if he was unhappy with the government's attitude, Abdulrahman said 'perhaps other things are keeping the government busy. There were elections but this is not a small project,' he said.

On why the masterplan was getting delayed, he said 'the land is huge, the masterplan will be prepared in phases.'

During his visit in February this year, he had met the Chief Minister and Fisheries Minister.'We have written to them, communicated several times after that. 'Yes there is delay in responses. It should not be like this', he said.

Tecom had in April this year made it clear that they had not pulled back its personnel from the Kochi project, but had put on hold additional recuritment of human resources until the freehold land issue was resolved.Abdulrahman said he had come to clarify reports on the issue and would leave for Dubai today itself.

The government had alloted about 246 acres of land for the project at nearby Kakkanad, out of which about 136 acres had got in principle SEZ status from the centre.But the final notification was yet to come as the land has not yet been registered.

The lease agreement signed between the Kerala government and the Smart city project of Dubai on May 13, 2007 had lapsed in November last year. A fresh agreement was yet to be signed.

The bone of contention between the government and project developers is the insistence of the latter for about 39 acres of freehold land which should be included in the lease agreement, according to them.

Meanwhile, Opposition leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy during whose tenure the project's MOU was signed in 2005, alleged that unnecessary changes were made by the LDF government in the agreement which has resulted in the stalemate.

Due to the delay in the project's implementation , the Youth congress activists took out a march to the project site today which was inaugurated by Chandy.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Another related news

http://i41.tinypic.com/1he1x5.jpg

Emaar - MGF 's IT park project In Ernakulam district cleared by SEZ board :banana:. The land area is around 40 hectares i believe.

New Delhi: The government Tuesday cleared nine fresh proposals for setting up special economic zones, most of which related to IT and ITES, followed by the bio-technology sector.
The Board of Approval in the Commerce Ministry gave green signal to Gulf Oil Corporation, L & T, Emaar MGF and MM Tech to set up IT/ITES tax-free enclave in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Chenagamanadu (Kerala), respectively.
Three bio-technology SEZs have been sanctioned for Bangalore, Anantpur (Andhra Pradesh) and Ratnagiri (Maharashtra).
Besides, two multi-product and multi-services SEZs would come up at Kotamandal in Andhra Pradesh and Nasik in Maharashtra.
Since 2006, when the SEZ Act was notified, formal approvals have been granted for setting up 568 SEZs, of which 315 have been notified.
Exports from SEZs grew by 36% to Rs90,416 crore in 2008-09 from Rs66,638 crore in the previous fiscal.


http://www.livemint.com/2009/06/02134527/Govt-clears-nine-SEZs-most-be.html?h=B

Ernakulam district has the highest number of SEZ's sanctioned till date.

List of sanctioned SEZ

1 Cochin Port Trust Vallarpadam KL Port Based - 115 hectres
2 Cochin Port Trust Puthuvypeen KL Port Based - 285 hectres
3 M/s. Infopark, Kochi Kusumagiri, IT/ITES - 30.7683 hectres
4 Unitech Real Estate Project Ltd. Village Kunnathunadu, KL IT/ITES - 10 hectres
5 Parsvnath Developers Limited, KL IT/ITES - 30.76 hectres
6 TCG Urban Infrastructure Holdings Limited , Biotechology - 12 hectres
7 Smart City (Kochi) Infrastructure Private Limited IT/ITES - 53.838 hectres
8 Sutherland Global Services Pvt. Ltd. Kochi,Kerala T/ITES - 10 hectres
9 Carborundum Universal, Energy & Power - 20 hectres
10 Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Dev. Corpn. (KINFRA)Cochin, Electronics Industries - 12.141 hectres
11 Emmar MGF , Desam - 40 hectares

We just have two more projects which would probably get SEZ approval in a couple of months time.

1 Shobha Hi tech City - 500 acres
2 HDIL Kalamassery - 70 acres

Upcoming SEZ's

1 Gem & Jewellery SEZ


The business background of Kochi is diversified in various fields like Shipping / Heavy Industries / IT / Biotechnology / Tourism / Energy / Electronics / Gem & Jewellery / Trading / Financial Services / Rubber / Spices / Fisheries ..........

The plus point of Kochi is that there is plenty of land available for large scale developmet mostly with the public sector firms who wanna diversify into the gen-next money spinning business . Since land being the most scarcely available resource in Kerala - this is a huge plus point for Kochi.:banana:

Some of the PSU's vying to diversify their vast real estate holdings are,

FACT
HMT
Cochin Port Trust
Cochin International Airport Ltd
Travancore Cochin Chemicals Ltd

Emaar - MGF 's IT park project In Ernakulam district cleared by SEZ board . The land area is around 40 hectares i believe.

Arun, your belief is misplaced. The SEZ has an extent of about 12 hectares only and will eventually have 1 - 1.5 million sq.ft. of IT/ITES space.

A spot of good news at last amongst the doom and gloom in the sector. :) On the flip side, I understand that a couple of SEZs which received preliminary approval may soon lapse as their developers have shown no further interest. This will be a loss to all stakeholders, including the people of Kerala. Let's hope this doesn't happen.

Cheers!

Arun, your belief is misplaced. The SEZ has an extent of about 12 hectares only and will eventually have 1 - 1.5 million sq.ft. of IT/ITES space.

A spot of good news at last amongst the doom and gloom in the sector. :) On the flip side, I understand that a couple of SEZs which received preliminary approval may soon lapse as their developers have shown no further interest. This will be a loss to all stakeholders, including the people of Kerala. Let's hope this doesn't happen.

Cheers!

A plot area of 6,84,647 Sq.m translates to 169 acres approx. The built up are is around 10,89,185 Sq.m- it will contain only a million sq ft of IT space, bit unbelieveable isn't it? The main rider in Kerala SEZ act is that more than 50 percent of the built up area shold be dedicated to IT. So, doesn't that makes your claim a bit contradictory?

A plot area of 6,84,647 Sq.m translates to 169 acres approx. The built up are is around 10,89,185 Sq.m- it will contain only a million sq ft of IT space, bit unbelieveable isn't it? The main rider in Kerala SEZ act is that more than 50 percent of the built up area shold be dedicated to IT. So, doesn't that makes your claim a bit contradictory?

Pramod, I filled in that SEZ application, so believe me when I say I know the facts well. :)

The 169 acres refers to the SEZ and the integrated township next to it. The SEZ itself is only about 28 acres. 70% of this is processing area, in accordance with the norms of the Kerala IT Policy. In fact, we were the first private developer to meet these guidelines.

At an FAR of about 2.5, the processing area yields 1.4 million sq.ft. of space, which is ideal as per our estimate of the market potential of the region. Mind you, market potential is not estimated on media reports. It is done through a scientific study by professional agencies.

So, Pramod, you can rest assured that I have the facts very clear. After all, I have been working on SEZs in Kerala with the Government for the last 18 months or more.

Cheers!

Can some one check this 50 storied tower ,
courtesy : scorpiogenius , Kochinow

I have a gut feeling this is of Alliance group project ... Their profile of projects are mostly of Alliance group..

http://vjarchitects.com/photogallery.htm

Cool find.

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4617/p02j.jpg

Ajaypp, how is the legalities of the SEZ managed? Does the SEZ area need to be "walled-in", with access controled gate etc? It would be interesting to know the details.

When CEPZ started, the "wall-in" was a bigg deal, with questions like "what if someone throws material over the wall". The customs demanded to inspect even the food that is brought in, and import certificates were demanded for things not made in India, like a Mitutoyo Vernier Caliper.

Can some one check this 50 storied tower ,
courtesy : scorpiogenius , Kochinow

I have a gut feeling this is of Alliance group project ... Their profile of projects are mostly of Alliance group..

http://vjarchitects.com/photogallery.htm

Do you what its name is and where it is located?

I have a gut feeling this is of Alliance group project ... Their profile of projects are mostly of Alliance group

Its not. I checked Alliance's website and its not there. Unless they have not updated there website in a while.

TWO More IT SEZ sanctioned in Cochin :banana: Kochi rocks

IT SEZ in 20 acres of land - Promoters: Muthoot Group

IT SEZ in 25 acres of land next to kINFRA Hi- Tech park,Kalamassery - Promoters : Sutherland Global

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentType=EDITORIAL&programId=1073753761&articleType=Malayalam%20News&contentId=5550555&BV_ID=@@@#

Yes! It has to be walled in with HID security system. Each SEZ owner will be given an access card which they have to swipe before saying OPEN SEZ.

But because Cochin is all hyped and people are living in a fool's paradise and because I come from Trivandrum where after 2000 years of existence we were the first to get a Technopark and we never got anything ever after that, I am the guru of SEZ-onomics. I also work for one of the leading builders in the country (we build buildings, not ships). I have enough years of experience working across the country and the globe (that is a huge 5 plus ONE years, six nah?).

The reason I came here is because there is nothing happening in my thread and I just thought I should irritate a few happy souls here.

Dileep, nalla signature, kodukunno? Your signature provoked me (but I am not bald yet).


Ajaypp, how is the legalities of the SEZ managed? Does the SEZ area need to be "walled-in", with access controled gate etc? It would be interesting to know the details.

When CEPZ started, the "wall-in" was a bigg deal, with questions like "what if someone throws material over the wall". The customs demanded to inspect even the food that is brought in, and import certificates were demanded for things not made in India, like a Mitutoyo Vernier Caliper.

IWT terminals planned in Kochi

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has sanctioned Rs 16.63 crore for establishing IWT Terminals at Bolgatty Island and Willingdon Island under Cochin Port Trust area to provide connectivity of National Waterway No. 3 to Vallarpadam International Container Transhipment Terminal. This project is expected to be completed by November 2009.

When completed, the project will provide the necessary infrastructure for transportation of container laden lorries and trailers between Vallarpadam and Willingdon Islands. It is expected that even if there is a delay of 2-3 months in completing the National Highway connectivity project, the Ro Ro service will provide seamless connectivity between Vallarpadam and the National Highway network through Willingdon Island.

It is also expected that the Ro-Ro service will give a big boost for transportation of containers through the Inland Waterway scheme of Kerala, which remains grossly underutilised today. Once these terminals are ready, it will be possible to transport containers from Vallarpadam directly to Cherthala, Alapuzha, Kottayam and Kollam.


Another shot in the arm for the upcoming vallarpadom terminal . Inland waterways would be of great advantage as it reduces the cost
as well as decongests the highways . Plus point for Kochi & the neighbouring districts of Alleppey,Kottayam & Kollam..........

@Ozzieindie. I asked a genuine question on the SEZ legalities, as Ajay seems to be knowledgeable in that. Your answer seems to be incorrect in that regard, irrespective of your claim of being a guru of SEZ-onomics, and the stated work experience. The rules for SEZ is the same all across the country, so I do not understand why you mentioned specific city names either.

The signatures don't come under copyright, so the issue of "kodukunno" doesn't arise. And I don't understand why that should provoke you. If it is in violation to the forum policy in any way, I would have heard from the mods by now.

Ajaypp, how is the legalities of the SEZ managed? Does the SEZ area need to be "walled-in", with access controled gate etc? It would be interesting to know the details.

When CEPZ started, the "wall-in" was a bigg deal, with questions like "what if someone throws material over the wall". The customs demanded to inspect even the food that is brought in, and import certificates were demanded for things not made in India, like a Mitutoyo Vernier Caliper.

Dileep - To put it very simply, an SEZ of any type is like a piece of foreign soil within India, it is outside the purview of the domestic tax and customs levies. Although you don't need a passport to visit an SEZ, it is an access controlled zone. An SEZ has to have a secure boundary with a strict control on what and who go in and out. This applies to the Processing Zone of each SEZ.

This is also the reason why the land in an SEZ has to be contiguous. Case in point being Smart City where the river running in the middle has thrown a spanner into the contiguity condition and prevented the whole area being declared as a single SEZ.

Always happy to help with what I know. I have worked on SEZs such as our Desom project and Technocity, over the last two years. With redtape at every turn, one is forced to learn all the little bits and pieces of the SEZ Act if an approval is to be achieved.

Cheers! :)

Thanx Ajay.

Smartcity people could have built a bridge across the river.

Oil and natural gas findings near Kochi.

Presence of oil and natural gas near Kodugallur cost.

This will definitely change the face of Kochi


http://mangalam.com/index.php?page=detail&nid=175434

It is a well known fact that there is oil deposits in the coast of Kerala. Some drilling was done a few decades ago, but that was abruptly stopped.

Someone involved in the local support for the efforts told me that the original plan was to drill to certain depth (6000 ft IIRC), but when it reached around 4000 ft, the operation was abruptly shut down. Conspiracy theories floated around as well.

Thanx Ajay.

Smartcity people could have built a bridge across the river.

^^ - Unfortunately, it is not that easy. :lol:

Wait for an Upscale Resort cum Residential Project from Lulu Group at Cochin

http://www.mfarholdings.com/
Click " In The News"

Wow!! now thats seriously tall.

Cool find.

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4617/p02j.jpg

^^Yeah. It will stand out in Kochi's skyline.

Wish we cloud fins some more info out on it.

Kakkanad

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/2720/kknd.jpg

Kochi - Distant View

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/4943/kocili.jpg

NPOL - A Unit of DRDO

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/3656/npol.jpg

Wait for an Upscale Resort cum Residential Project from Lulu Group at Cochin

http://www.mfarholdings.com/
Click " In The News"

KMC,

MFAR holdings belong to Dr.Muhammed Ali who own Le Meridien - kochi

Lulu is owned by Mr. Yusuf Ali & the holding company is EMKE Group.:)

Both are very respectable businessmen in the middle east.

Any way nice to see such mega projects flooding Kochi.

delete

The project that will transform the skyline of Marine Drive - Purva Marina.....

Courtesy _ Plus - Kochinow

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/8628/pm1x.jpg

Marine Drive Sealine has got limited length compared to cities like bombay.Still If Such projects materilaize ,it will be great to see new kochi..

Marine Drive Sealine has got limited length compared to cities like bombay.Still If Such projects materilaize ,it will be great to see new kochi..
Some 2.5 km stretch further north could be developed if needed.

I dont know whether it has been posted here before. If so, sorry for the repetition.

http://i40.tinypic.com/2hyz9tt.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/30ae4af.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/xcnecx.jpg

Seems like a massive project ???? Who is the developer Shafi????

Seems like a massive project ???? Who is the developer Shafi????

Lol, AGS = Aerens Gold Souk. Elementary, my dear Arun. ;) I am sure you have discussed about this proposal many a time and it has been posted here as well.

Thanks for the detailed views, Shafi.

Marine Drive Sealine has got limited length compared to cities like bombay.Still If Such projects materilaize ,it will be great to see new kochi..

you are mistaken , The entire islands will form part of Marine drive - Vypeen , Boghatty , Mulavukad , its just that from 4th floor onwards all are waterfront view , Just wait and see how the skyline will change ...

Kerala Cricket Associations International Cricket Stadium to come at Edakochi - 200 Crore Project , 50000 seating capacity:banana:

Courtesy : Plus : Kochinow..


Putting rest to all roumours , its edakochi which bagged the project . 10 Crore advance already paid to owners , registration formalities to be over in a week ..... Its a Waterfront Cricket Stadium ....

http://mathrubhumi.com/php/newFrm.php?news_id=1232063&n_type=NE&category_id=3&Farc=

Spices exports from India recorded a record turnover of around IN Rupees 5000 crores .

90% of the spices exports are exported in the raw form & Kerala has the potential to be the spice hub with an export turnover of around Rs 15000 crores if we concentrate on the export of value added products .:)

http://mathrubhumi.com/php/newFrm.php?news_id=1232337&n_type=NE&category_id=7&Farc=

472 acre Kinfra Park land acquisition process started . Its near airport.
50 Mtr wide road will connect it to airport ...

http://www.metrovaartha.com/2009/06/11101848/kinfra.html

Mfar recruiting Project director for their Cochin project ...

any architect fellowsss?? wanna apply..

http://jobsearch.naukri.com/mynaukri/mn_newminnernew.php?f=090609500032&xp=19&xz=3_0_1&xo=&id=&xid=124466856769212700&qf%5B%5D=catid_1&qs=r&qt=all&enableRoleMapping=y&qd=1&mode=7

With the slowdown cloud gradually drifting away, domestic realty players can now seriously consider expanding rapidly into Tier III cities. Over the longer term it is anticipated that the 30 Indian cities will offer new opportunities for both domestic and foreign real estate investors, developers and occupiers. The India30 includes all tertiary cities with populations over 1.5 million (16 cities), together with 14 smaller cities selected on the basis of IT, retailer and hotels activity.

The India30 account for a relatively small proportion of real estate activity (21 per centof modern offices and 34 per cent of shopping malls), but with 41 per cent of the country’s wealth, the potential of these tertiary markets is clearly evident, according to a recent report entitled ‘India30 - Real Estate Opportunities in Tier III cities’ by Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

The first group of five cities — Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Kochi, Jaipur and Nagpur — already have rapidly growing real estate markets due to city size, market reach and connectivity. The second set of five cities — Coimbatore, Mangalore, Thiruvanantha-puram, Visakhapatnam and Goa are continuing to emerge as favoured real estate destinations amongst the India30 due to the unique aspects that they can offer — affordability, tourism and a rapidly developing consumer base.
“The top 10 cities have disparate risk profiles with Chandigarh, Kochi and Nagpur scoring the same risk levels as India’s Tier I and Tier II markets. The remaining eight cities, while possessing slightly higher levels of risk, should not be ignored as opportunities continue to abound there for those savvy enough to understand the unique dynamics of these markets,” the report said.

Out of the 10 Tier III cities which offer the strongest real estate potential combined with lowest market risk: Five cities stand out — Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Kochi, Jaipur and Nagpur. This group already has rapidly growing real estate markets due to their city size, market reach and connectivity.

A second group of mainly southern Indian cities — Coimbatore, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Visakhapatnam, and Goa — also score well and have growing consumer markets.

Three key factors will affect the long-term economic success of Tier III cities — infrastructure, human capital and governance. Whilst affordability is currently driving the move into Tier III cities, continuing to rely solely on cost savings (relative to India’s major metros) will not be sufficient to ensure future long term growth, it says.

The research highlights that the risk profile varies considerably in the India30, reflecting the diversity of operating conditions across India. However in contrast to many perceptions, it indicates that levels of risk in some Tier m cities are no different than in the main metros.

Source: Hindustan Times
http://propertybytes.indiaproperty.com/?p=3645

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=655fa832-81df-41fd-894f-d428f20cb51b


Metro made in India
===============

This is what Bombardier Transportation India will roll out from its manufacturing facility in Savli, an industrial town 15km north of Vadodara in Gujarat, for Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) expansion plans of phase II.

The first train set, consisting of four ‘Movia’ coaches, was unveiled by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in a glittering ceremony at Savli on Friday.

Bombardier Transportation is based out of Germany and manufactures trains, commercial aircraft and business jets.

DMRC is buying 81 trains (424 coaches) from Bomabardier for Rs 3,000 crore for its 125-km expansion in phase II. While nine train sets have been manufactured at Bombardier’s plant in Germany and transported to Delhi by aircraft (two trains) and by the sea route, the remaining are being made at the Savli plant.

More than two million people are expected to use the Metro network, spread over 193 km and consisting 144 Metro stations on nine corridors, including the high speed 22.7 km airport line, in Delhi by Commonwealth Games 2010.

Bombardier will also cater to the demands of other Indian and southeast Asian cities where Metro networks are expected to come up in the next few years. Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Kanpur and Kochi are some Indian cities where studies are on for Metro networks.

Just as the DMRC is known for completing projects fast, Bomabardier too rolled out its first train set in a record time. It took the company just 24 months, from the date DMRC placed the order, to get approvals from the Gujarat government, purchase land, construct the manufacturing facility, start production and roll out the coaches.

“People talk about fast approvals to Tata’s Nano project because the project had a background. But the fact is that Bombardier’s plant came up faster than the Nano’s plant,” said Modi.

The indigenously made Movia coaches come with some features specific to the Delhi conditions. “These trains have better air-conditioning, low noise pollution levels, closed circuit television cameras and electricity sockets for mobile and laptop charging,” Bombardier Transportation India managing director Rajeev Jyoti said.

With vehicular traffic accounting for 84 per cent of total carbon emissions, followed by 15 per cent by air traffic, Jyoti said the Movia coaches were energy efficient and eco-friendly. It holds significance that the first set rolled out on World Environment Day

The Bird Worldwide Flight Services (BWFS), a consortium of Frenchbased Worldwide Flight Services and Indian major The Bird Group, will launch ground handling service in Kochi International Airport from Wednesday onwards.


The contract of ground handling service in the airport which was entrusted with the Air India since its inception a decade ago had expired on Tuesday.

The BWFS won the contract for the next seven years when the CIAL invited global tender in the month of March. But it was uncertain whether the BWFS could begin the ground handling work in Kochi Airport as it could not obtain the mandatory security clearance to function as a ground handling agency from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). However the BWFS managed to get the clearance on Monday to facilitate them launch the work on the same day. Meanwhile, the CIAL had extended the contract with the Air India to continue the ground handling for another three months, said Airport director A C K Nair.

The BWFS succeeded to sign an agreement with Qatar Airways to take up its ground handling work in Kochi Airport. Qatar Airways operates seven flights weekly in Kochi- Doha sector.

But Air India would continue to handle the security functions such as baggage screening, access control, escorting luggage and catering of Qatar Airways as the BWFS is yet to obtain approval from the BCAS to carry out the security functions in the airport.:)

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=BWFS+to+launch+ground+handling+services+at+Kochi+airport&artid=2jKHg7ydScs=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&SEO=BWFS,+BCAS,+A+C+K+Nair,+CIAL&SectionName=X7s7i%7CxOZ5Y=

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Green shoots seem to be sprouting all over the IT/ITES space in Kerala as the Infopark in Kochi is aggressively pursuing an
expansion plan, that is already buoyed by robust inquiries for space from tech companies.

Infopark CEO Siddhartha Bhattacharya told ET that the current fiscal would see the park’s satellite station at Koratty near Thrissur going on-stream, work progressing on two satellite parks at Ambalappuzha and Cherthala, and expansion of facilities being undertaken at its home base in Kochi.

"Of the 40,000 sq ft of space that we offered at the upcoming Koratty park north of Kochi, 12,000 sq ft has already been snapped up and over the next 30 days we hope to tie up for another 25,000 sq ft. Interest in the park has been so strong that we got enquiries from places as far as Atlanta and Middle East", Mr Bhattacharya said. The Koratty facility will feature 70,000 sq ft in all in the first phase.

The Koratty park is expected to be operational by November, which will make it the first satellite IT park in Kerala that will be on stream, as part of the state government's plan to decentralize the IT sector to cover all 14 districts in the state.

Mr Bhattacharya said a key attraction for companies to set up shop was the rent deferral for one year that the state government had announced for IT companies operating from its parks, which has been particularly appealing to the small and medium sector.

Mathews Jose, CEO of BlueLabs Technology which has booked space at the Koratty park said the rental of Rs 30 per sq ft for furnished space at the park and its proximity to the airport were the two key features that prompted his company to set up a 200-seater operation at Koratty.

Infopark has a budget of Rs 260 crore for 2009-10, part of which will be utilized in completing the 6.5 lakh sq ft Atulya building at Kochi, which has an estimated outlay of Rs 90 crore.

The Infopark's 110-acre campus will see an expansion when an additional 160 acres are acquired adjacent to its present campus, for which the legal scrutiny process is under way. Infopark had added 2,200 employees in the last fiscal, taking the number of techies working on its campus to roughly 9,000.

Infopark expansion grid:

Completion of 6.5 lakh sq ft Atulya building

Acquisition of 160 acres in Kochi

Satellite parks at Koratty, Cherthala, Ambalappuzha :banana:


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Infrastructure/Infopark-defies-crunch-to-launch-expansion/articleshow/4648930.cms

KOCHI: The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) and Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) will set up a container freight station in Kochi at a cost of Rs 60 crore.


The state-of-the art project will be set up in July or August.

This was decided at a meeting attended by Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas and top officials of the two companies on Wednesday.

CWC Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) B B Patnaik and FACT CMD George Sleeba attended the meeting, a press release said.

The project will help in the economic development of the region and will provide employment opportunities to local people.

The freight station will be set up on a 25-acre vacant land available with FACT.

Both the companies will present a working model of the project to their respective boards for approval in June itself, the release said.

The CWC proposes to construct more warehouses where land is made available by the State Government. :)

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Rs+60-crore+container+freight+station+to+come+up+in+Kochi&artid=a9MzYC%7CbJPU=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=X7s7i%7CxOZ5Y=&SEO=

Smart City Dubai takes the exit route

KOCHI: Smart City Dubai, a Gulf-based company that is into setting up self-sustained townships for knowledge-based industries, Sunday said it was no longer interested in its proposed Rs.1,500-crore ($316 million)-IT township project in this state.

In a statement, the company said it has withdrawn the contract with UK-based master planner Collin Buchnan company to develop the Smart City Kochi IT township project.

"We regret to inform all those concerned that we have been forced to close our contract with the internationally renowned UK-based Master Planning Consultants," said company chief executive Fareed Abdul Rahman in a press statement.

The statement comes two weeks after Smart City Dubai urged the state government June 1 to sort out the issue of freehold land, and wanted an assurance that 12 percent of the land for the project be freehold.

The company said despite its "best efforts to sort out issues by way of action", it has "only heard statements" in the media about more discussions on the subject of freehold.

"After our recent press meeting, it was said that Smart City will come to know of the Government of Kerala's decision by the first week of June. Once the Government of Kerala takes action in resolving the pending issues and we mutually agree on the way forward, the Master Planners will recommence developing Smart City Kochi," said Rahman.

The Smart City Kochi project's foundation stone was laid Nov 16, 2007 by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan. Since then, there has been no progress.

Achuthanandan has accused the Dubai-based developer of making "unreasonable demands".

The proposed 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.

The government has already given the special economic status to 136 acres of the project land and is yet to get the same for the remaining land.

But it has not completed the registration of the land and not settled the stamp duty issue.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Smart+City+Dubai+takes+the+exit+route&artid=ogPYFHSABy8=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&SectionName=X7s7i|xOZ5Y=&SEO=kochi,%20suspend,%20smart,%20city

Perhaps we may never know who put roadblocks for the project, and for what purpose.

SmartCity is dead! Long Live SmartCity!

വിളവു തിന്നത് വേലിയോ? അതോ 'വേലിക്കകത്ത്' ഉള്ള ആരോ?

Smart City Dubai takes the exit route




Dont lose "hopes" choryyan .... if not DIC another real estate giant gonna take up the project .:nuts:

Kochi flies high...........................


Waterfront apartments always go for a premium in Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, situated on the fringes of Arabian Sea. With the Rs
3,000-crore International Container Transhipment Terminal slated to go on stream this year at the nearby Vallarpadam island, there is a virtual scramble for lake-facing apartments.

Located on the Marine Drive near the starting point of the bridges connecting the mainland Ernakulam to the islands of Bolghatty, Vallarpadam and Vypeen, Majestic Marina, the premium apartment complex of KGL Builders, has reaped all the benefits of its proximity to the backwaters.

The 15-floor complex has 88 apartments apart from three floors exclusively set aside for commercial activities. Predictably, demand has been high for 44 apartments facing the scenic backwaters of Kochi. All of this, except two, has been sold out. Another 12 apartments not having full view of backwaters are available for purchase.

According to K Kiran, marketing manager of KGL Builders, the rate starts from Rs 4,850 per sq ft and goes up to Rs 10,000 per sq ft. The basic price comes to Rs 85 lakh. The highest rate is for two duplex penthouses costing Rs 4 cr each situated at the rooftop offering full lake view. Of these, one has already been booked.

There are three more penthouses, all of which are available. The prices range from Rs 2.5 cr to Rs 3.5 cr and each have an area of 3,500 sq ft. The other apartments are of sizes 1750 sq ft. and 2100 sq ft.

The first three floors from the bottom with a total area of 1 lakh sq ft have been earmarked for commercial activities. “We plan to give it as one unit for companies wishing to start a hypermarket,” Mr Kiran said. The basement is reserved for parking. The special amenities include rooftop swimming pool, health club, conference hall and club house. Apart from Italian marble in the common area, the apartments have several imported fittings with accent on contemporary architecture and finish.

More than 50% of the customers are NRIs, predominantly Keralites. And many of them are from the US and the UK and even Botswana, besides the Middle East. KGL Builders, in fact, is a new venture of UAE-based KM Trading Group, which has major interest in retailing.

For the prospective buyers, the location of Marina Majestic is an advantage. Being located at the Marine Drive, they will have easy access to all the facilities in the city. :banana:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Features/The-Sunday-ET/New-Article/articleshow/4653885.cms

CIAL plans hospitality district, exhibition centre and aerospace museum at airport
In a bid to develop Kochi airport into a state-of-the-art aerotropolis, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) is looking at developing a hospitality district, exhibition centre, aerospace museum and a golf course for travellers. CIAL is still in the planning stage for hospitality district, aerospace museum and a golf course, while the exhibition centre is in the development stage and is likely to start operations in another year. CIAL is looking at developing three and five-star category hotels, further details of which were not disclosed. For the aerospace museum, CIAL plans to include model aircraft; real aircraft; engines; aeronautical equipment; models of airports; ATC tower; and illustrations and write ups on the evolution of aviation and airports over the years.

Speaking with TravelBiz Monitor, A C K Nair, Airport Director, CIAL said, “By adopting the aerotropolis concept for Kochi, we are looking at attracting more travellers and enhancing their airport experience with various activities. The hospitality district and the exhibition centre will encash on the leisure, business and MICE segment in Kerala along with the aerospace museum and the golf course while they are at the airport.” Through this initiative, the airport is targeting to attract traffic from Middle East, Far East and the European market.

Furthermore, CIAL, through its subsidiary company Cochin International Aviation Services Limited (CIASL) will set up an aviation academy at the airport and is opening admissions from this academic year (2009). The aviation academy will concentrate on offering courses related to aircraft maintenance, cargo operations and terminal management. “For the aviation academy, we have tied up with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to set the syllabus, conduct the examination and give the certification to students. We also plan to introduce an MBA course in airport management,” informed Nair. The airport is also developing a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility along with a industrial park (where the hospitality district will be set up) in the airport premises. The airport currently handles 60 to 62 flights on a daily basis with international and domestic flights sharing an equal ratio. From the year 1998-2008, the airport has recorded a cumulative growth of 25 per cent. :banana:

http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/cial-plans-hospitality-district-exhibition-centre-and-aerospace-museum-at-airport-6927

KOCHI: Union Minister of State for Railways E Ahmed on Monday said that he would seriously consider the Sabari rail project aimed at bringing Sabarimala onto the country's railway map.


"As the Union Minister of State for Railways, Sabari rail is one of the major project that I will present before the Union Cabinet. It is a requirement of the entire State. But there are various hurdles such as land acquisition. So it will take time," Ahmed said.

The Minister was addressing the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) workers at a reception organised by the IUML Ernakulam District Committee."Kochi has several requirements in the railway sector. I will study and analyse them in detail, one by one, and will try to find solutions within the next five years " he said.


Earlier, in his inaugural address IUML leader and ex minister M K Muneer said that it was a great honour to the IUML to have its national leader as the Union Minister of a demanding portfolio. "Kerala has several long-pending demands in the railway sector. A Minister of Railways with Ahmed's callibre is the need of the hour," Muneer said.


http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Sabari+rail+project+will+be+placed+in+Cabinet:+Ahmed&artid=48ftvld5ev8=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&SEO=M+K+Muneer,+IUML,+E+Ahmed&SectionName=X7s7i%7CxOZ5Y=

Sabari project would bring Ernakulam district closely connected with Kottayam & Pathanamthitta & Kollam as well as boost the trade & commerce from these areas .The proposed project would link Angamaly(Ernakulam Dist.) and Punalur(Kollam Dist.) via Kalady, Malayattoor, Kothamangalam, Perumbavoor, Muvattupuzha, Thodupuzha, Pala, Ponkunnam, Kanjirappally, Erumely, Ranni, Pathanamthitta, Konni, Pathanapuram and Achencoil.:)

SmartCity row to be sorted out soon: Karim

Staff Reporter

KOTTAYAM: Minister for Industries Elamaram Karim has expressed confidence that the row over the SmartCity project would be sorted out within a week.

Speaking to media persons here on Monday, Mr. Karim said Tecom, the Dubai-based promoters of the project, have not said that they have abandoned the project. The State government was committed to the implementation of the project and there was no going back on it, he said. The procedural formalities were being completed.

However, on account of the just concluded general elections, there was some delay in making policy decisions, he said. He also pointed to the statement by Minister for Fisheries, S. Sarma, who had expressed his commitment to implement the project.

To another question, Mr Karim said the government has decided to take over TECIL, Chingavanom, which has remained closed for the past one decade. The management had shown its inability to revive the factory and as such, the government has decided to take it over, including its land.

Many prospective entrepreneurs had evinced interest to start projects on the land, he said. The formal papers regarding the take-over will be handed over to the management by the District Collector soon, he said.

Earlier, speaking at the function organised to extend felicitations to women entrepreneurs, Mr Karim urged banks to join hands with government in implementing projects, especially in the Small Scale Industries sector.

He also wanted the Industries department to come forward to help and encourage entrepreneurs.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/16/stories/2009061655150700.htm

Smart City Dubai takes the exit route

KOCHI: Smart City Dubai, a Gulf-based company that is into setting up self-sustained townships for knowledge-based industries, Sunday said it was no longer interested in its proposed Rs.1,500-crore ($316 million)-IT township project in this state.

In a statement, the company said it has withdrawn the contract with UK-based master planner Collin Buchnan company to develop the Smart City Kochi IT township project.

"We regret to inform all those concerned that we have been forced to close our contract with the internationally renowned UK-based Master Planning Consultants," said company chief executive Fareed Abdul Rahman in a press statement.

The statement comes two weeks after Smart City Dubai urged the state government June 1 to sort out the issue of freehold land, and wanted an assurance that 12 percent of the land for the project be freehold.

The company said despite its "best efforts to sort out issues by way of action", it has "only heard statements" in the media about more discussions on the subject of freehold.

"After our recent press meeting, it was said that Smart City will come to know of the Government of Kerala's decision by the first week of June. Once the Government of Kerala takes action in resolving the pending issues and we mutually agree on the way forward, the Master Planners will recommence developing Smart City Kochi," said Rahman.

The Smart City Kochi project's foundation stone was laid Nov 16, 2007 by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan. Since then, there has been no progress.

Achuthanandan has accused the Dubai-based developer of making "unreasonable demands".

The proposed 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.

The government has already given the special economic status to 136 acres of the project land and is yet to get the same for the remaining land.

But it has not completed the registration of the land and not settled the stamp duty issue.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Smart+City+Dubai+takes+the+exit+route&artid=ogPYFHSABy8=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&SectionName=X7s7i|xOZ5Y=&SEO=kochi,%20suspend,%20smart,%20city

Given the condition of Dubai now and the attitude of Kerala Government, this is not the least bit surprising......

Perhaps we may never know who put roadblocks for the project, and for what purpose.

SmartCity is dead! Long Live SmartCity!

വിളവു തിന്നത് വേലിയോ? അതോ 'വേലിക്കകത്ത്' ഉള്ള ആരോ?

Our comic politicians are busy in proving who is supreme in kerala Politics , all this by putting on hold the entire administrative machinery ... disgusting.
Perhaps the present govt has realised that their fate in next assembly election has already been sealed ... Now they put nail on their coffin by dragging smart city to a virtual stand still......

If they loose on this project , Investors will say Tata Left !!!

Even in recession times , there seems good demand in commercial property ..

I am not sure whether piling is over for this project , alfa horison at Vallarpadom , but mostly its sold out , even at good rate of 6500/sqft

http://www.alfaventures.com/horizon/index.htm

Realtors shaken not stirred

KOCHI: Tecom’s decision to close its contract with Collin Buchnan, the master planner for the project, will have a serious ‘short-term impact’ on the real estate sector, experts said. The real estate sector had been showing signs of recovery in the last few months but now it will have to adopt a wait and watch policy.

According to the builders’ forum, about 9000 individual apartments are under various stages of construction in the areas near the proposed Smart City land.

The uncertainty over the Smart City project will delay the sale of completed units.

“The uncertainty over the Smart City project will have a negative impact in the real estate sector. It will affect the sentiments of individual buyers, especially NRIs, as the Smart City was a much-hyped project. The delay in the project will force them to rethink about investing in the city,” said Antony Kunnel, secretary, Kerala Builders Forum (KBF).

“But I think it’s a short-term impact. We have not gone for a huge capacity build up in Kakkanad.

We have other potential areas in the city. The Infopark is doing well and once the global meltdown eases the already established IT companies will attract more techies to the city.

Kochi will certainly become an IT hub if we promote Infopark.

The government should take necessary steps for IT-related expansion.

Smart City is not the ultimate in development,” Antony said.

He said that factional feud in the CPM is the reason for the delay in starting the Smart City project. “The government should take a decision soon. We cannot blame Tecom for putting the project on hold. The government has not given a firm assurance with regard to the Smart City’s entitlement to 12 percent freehold land.” Regarding the overall market scenario, Antony said, “builders are confident that things will change for the better in the real estate sector soon and some new projects
are in the pipeline.” Construction companies are now focusing on the middle-class segment and this will do well for the industry. “The new apartments will have all modern amenities at the same time they will be reasonably priced to make it affordable to the middle-class,” he said.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Realtors+shaken+not+stirred&artid=sGsvvnNfQSA=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=

Good response to investors’ meet



KOCHI: Banks and financial institutions participating in Invest@2009, an investors meet organised by the State Industries Department, agreed in principle to lend Rs.123 crore to 127 proposals that were scrutinised and cleared during interactions between entrepreneurs and representatives of banks and financial institutions here on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Industries Department said that more interactions were on and more proposals were likely to be cleared at the end of the day.

He said the proposals came from sectors as varied as food processing and decorative glass production. Proposals for agro-based industries and plywood manufacturing were among those cleared on Tuesday, he said.

Representatives of several public sector and leading private sector banks participated in the day-long programme, which was organised solely by the Industries Department. In the run-up to Tuesday’s event, the Industries Department identified nearly 450 entrepreneurs who could benefit from participating in the meet. The actual number of attendance exceeded the initial expectations, as more than 600 entrepreneurs registered for participation.

The department targeted investors both from Kerala and outside. Non-Resident Keralites (NoRKs) entrepreneurs were among the targets identified by the department.

Kochi Corpn seeks suburban rail system

The Kochi Corporation has sought the help of the Railways in starting a suburban-railway system linking Kochi city with Thrissur, Kottayam and Mattancherry, benefiting short-distance commuters. The civic authority had also demanded setting up a new railway station at Nedumbassery for the benefit of passengers who arrive at the Cochin International Airport.

This was highlighted in a memorandum submitted by the City Mayor, Prof Mercy Williams, to the visiting Minister of State for Railways, Mr E. Ahmed.

Top on the list is a project to build four-lane overbridges in place of the existing two-lane ones at Ernakulam North and South.

The widening of the two bridges that were built in the 1960s is vital to ensure smooth flow of traffic along the Banerjee Road and Sahodaran Ayyapan Road, two arterial roads in the city that encounter traffic snarls all through the day.

However, any work on them cannot be carried out unless the long-pending overbridges are ready at Pullepady and Atlantis which run parallel to the two bridges.

For this, the Corporation has asked the Railways to speed up work on the two new bridges, apart from the pending ones at Ponnurunni and Pachalam.

Halting stations at the Ponnurunni Marshalling Yard and Edapally too have been mooted, on the lines of the Pettah railway station in Thiruvananthapuram.

Smart City: Discussions to start this week.:)

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?tabId=11&programId=1073753761&BV_ID=@@@&contentId=5602894&contentType=EDITORIAL&articleType=Malayalam%20News

Three projects proposed for Ernakulam Dist. @ Investment meet

A desilting plant - 11 crores

A spices extract unit from the firm owned by Sanjay Mariwala (CII President Keala region) - 60 crores

A project from Kitex group - 55 crores :banana:

TELK - NTPC JV to change the fortunes of the sick PSU .:)

http://mathrubhumi.com/php/newFrm.php?news_id=1233552&n_type=NE&category_id=7&Farc=

• New and trend-setting dealership architecture heralds Audi quality of sales drive
• Tiers: “Investment demonstrates confidence in the market’s strength”
• Largest luxury car showroom in Kerala; spread over 9000 square feet area with display of eight Audi cars
• 6000 square feet of dedicated space for workshop and premium body shop


Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer, today announced the opening of the country’s first Audi terminal showroom in Kochi. ‘Audi Kochi’ is Audi’s flagship showroom in India that exemplifies the latest and exclusive terminal architecture of Audi. The purpose of the Audi terminal is to increase the visibility of the brand through a design that is instantly recognizable in the metropolises around the world. The visionary dealership in Kochi has a 9000 square feet wide area exclusively dedicated for sales.
Mr. Benoit Tiers, Managing Director of Audi India, said, “Audi Kochi epitomizes the new terminal concept that offers a unique Audi experience to our customers around the globe. Audi’s brand philosophy “Vorsprung durch Technik” stands for progressiveness, sophistication and exclusivity and ‘Audi Kochi’ embodies the same. This dealership offers a world class service standard that is a norm for Audi. It will strengthen Audi’s foothold in the south Indian market and reinforce our commitment to reach out to customers.” As the most visible sign of the sales offensives, the Audi terminals will create an exclusive brand presence at hundreds of dealerships worldwide. In emphasizing the dynamics of the curve, the terminal’s architecture of the renowned office Allmann Sattler Wappner embodies the trend-setting luxury of the brand. The curve dominates the design of the presentation areas and of the windows in the Audi terminals. The architectural concept’s aluminum facade reflects the German car maker’s expertise in lightweight design.

The new Audi terminal in Kochi is an addition to the worldwide examples of the new Audi corporate architecture that are already located in cities such as Tokyo, Geneva, Sydney and Munich. By the end of 2012, more than 350 Audi terminals are to be created worldwide.

Audi Kochi is Audi India’s second largest dealership with 9,000 square feet exclusively dedicated for sales and a display of eight Audi cars. The world class interiors are designed using unique and exquisite materials from different countries in Europe. As the new dealer of the brand with four rings, it aims to intensify the fascination that customers and visitors have with Audi World. Initially, this pioneering dealership will have 17 highly skilled and trained employees from Audi to service customers. An additional area of 6,000 square feet houses a premium body shop and workshop with state-of-the-art technology. It reaffirms Audi’s commitment to provide world-class service standards to Audi owners.

Audi Kochi will give its customers the progressive Audi brand experience not only with the latest international standards of Audi Corporate Identity but also with Audi's complete range of models. The exclusive super sports car Audi R8 will be on display for the opening.

http://www.webnewswire.com/node/458203

More updates on the Cricket Stadium

The Kerala Cricket Association will build a new modern international cricket stadium in Kochi in three years.

The association has signed an agreement for 23 acres of land at Edakochi and has paid an advance of Rs 10 crores. The construction of the Rs. 250-crore project will begin early next year.

“It will be one of the best stadiums in the country and the most advanced too,” said T.C. Mathew, the KCA secretary, after the inauguration function of Kerala’s first indoor cricket academy at Kothamangalam’s Mar Athanasius College on Wednesday.

Multi-purpose


“Apart from the cricket stadium, we’re also planning to have facilities for almost all indoor games, swimming pools, one with hot water facility, facilities for water sports, an international-level club house and also a 10-metre shooting range at the venue. We are also looking to buy some more land for the project. It’s a three-year project.”

The conception and design are likely to take six to nine months.

“We’re looking at the Adelaide stadium, the Johannesburg Stadium, the main pavilion at the Mohali stadium and also the Hyderabad stadium and trying to bring the best to Kochi. The stadium will also have facilities for hosting Test cricket under lights,” said Mr. Mathew.

The KCA plans to finance the project from funds the BCCI gives to State associations for new stadiums, its own funds and bank loans. “We will also open club membership for the public to use the facilities and raise a good amount from this,” he said.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/17/stories/2009061756211600.htm

Mammootty turns producer, distributor

Malayalam film superstar Mammootty Sunday geared up for a new role - that of a producer and distributor - with the inauguration of his production company named Play House.

The ribbon cutting ceremony of new company was done here by popular film personalities Siddique and Lal.

"The name of the company itself means theatre and hence it would be for both film and drama. Opportunities would be there for new faces in film and drama," Mammootty told reporters.

The actor has been one of the leading stars of the Malayalam film industry for the past 26 years and has put on the grease-paint in more than 300 films besides picking up three national awards for acting.

The company has lined up three films for distribution and one for production in which Mammootty will play the lead, the actor informed.

The first film to be distributed is Jayaram-starrer "Kana Kanmani" directed by Akku Akbar and the others films by award winning director Shyamaprasad and Lal Jose.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200906141721.htm

Kochi is the undisputed leader as a shooting spot as far as malayalam film industry is concerned . Most of the film personalities reside in Kochi with both superstars (Mamooka & Lalettan ) being proud residents of this beautiful city.:) & the neighbouring Alleppey - backwaters is a hot bed of Tamil / Telugu & Bollywood films.

Great initiative by Kochi corporation to make the city 'clean' ^^



http://i43.tinypic.com/2cn69l.jpg

‘Smart’ dreams shattered

KOCHI: The ‘smart’ dreams of Kochi may not take wing. The gradual withdrawal of Tecom from the much-hyped Smart City project is sure to shatter the IT prospects of the city.

Kochi, which has been projected as the next major IT destination in the country after Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, and a potential second-rung IT hub along with Pune, is likely to suffer a setback if the Smart City project is dropped.

Currently Infopark is the only avenue for major IT companies coming to the state.

In view of the inflow of IT companies into the state, Infopark had been planning a phased-development across the state. “We are planning to start three similar initiatives in Thrissur, Cherthala and Ambalapuzha. These IT parks will be set up in a phased manner.

The first phase of Thrissur Park will begin in January 2010. This will be a major boost to IT companies eyeing Kochi,” said an official with the Infopark. He said that the recent developments regarding the Smart City project have not had any impact on IT companies operating at Infopark.

IT experts are of the view that a place is identified as an IT hub when the number of IT parks concentrated in that particular place increases.Therefore IT companies concentrate more on the place rather than the IT Park.

They point out that IT centres like Bangalore have about 50 IT companies operating.:hilarious

Meanwhile there are assumptions that The Dubai technology and Media Free Zone has been using pressure tactics on the State Government at a time of global meltdown. “If the project is dropped it will definitely affect the reputation of the State Government and Tecom. The way Tecom is handling the project indicates that currently it is under some financial crunch and this could be the reason for the pressure tactics,’’ said a senior IT official with the State Government.

The State Government looking into the real reason behind Tecom’s decision to change the master planner company.

Fisheries Minister S Sarma who is also the director board member of the Smart City project said that only the director board can take a decision regarding the change of master planner and Tecom has not made any official communication to the government about the recent developments.

Link (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=%E2%80%98Smart%E2%80%99+dreams+shattered&artid=ng46yVMvp8k=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=)

Kakkanad’s loss

KOCHI: It was the Smart City project which gave Kakkanad a place in the global IT map. And now the uncertainties looming large over the project will reflect on the overall development of Thrikkakara panchayat.

Almost all the infrastructure development of Kakkanad were based on the Smart City project. The surrounding areas of Kakkanad like Pallikkara, Brahmapuram and Pookkattupady were on a developmental spree after the project was declared. If the project had kicked off, road connectivity to the eastern parts of the district would have improved.

Kakkanad, which already has a good number of floating population, had thrown open a world of opportunities for all kinds of business enterprises. There were plans to protect river Kadambrayar which was the source of potable water to the Smart City. A plan for Kadambrayar tourism, which was inaugurated by the Tourism Minister, has reached nowhere.

Kadambrayar tourism project would have given a boost to the tourism prospects of Kochi. The eco-friendly tourism project was envisaged for the protection of the adjacent paddy fields as well. But now all the activities will be affected due to the delay in the Smart City project.

Link (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Kakkanad%E2%80%99s+loss&artid=ecs015rRye0=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=)

^^

With uncertainty prevailing over the Smart City project, some of the national and state-level IT majors came up with proposals to take over the project. In the wake of reports that Tecom is backing out of the venture, Kerala Builders Forum (KBF) came forward with a proposal to promote Smart City a few months ago.

But the State Government turned it down.

“Given the inordinate delay in implementing the project, the State Government can invite a fresh tender for the venture.

Many international and national players will be ready to take over the project,’’ said George E George, chairman, KBF. But he said that KBF is yet to submit a written proposal to the government in this regard.

The prime duty of a promoter is to construct basis infrastructure and not to set up any IT ventures directly.

So many firms operating in the country will be able to complete the work easily. Besides, the project cost is only Rs 1,500 crore which is not a huge amount.

Marketing the space is as important as infrastructure development.

“IT majors from the country can certainly take over the project. But what the project aims at is to attract global IT firms to Kochi. This requires marketing tactics,’’ said an expert in IT marketing.

“The project requires international standards on the designing, marketing and operating fronts.

A corporate firm of repute will be able to start the project and run it successfully,’’ he said.

“Apart from Rs 1,500 crore, an investment of at least Rs 6,000 crore is needed once Smart City becomes operational,’’ he said.

The government should either sort out the differences with Tecom and start the project without delay or go for a re-tender.

This is the demand put forward by those directly and indirectly involved with the project.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Kochi+needs+a+smart+player&artid=Fn8kWZc%7CGWw=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&SEO=KBF,+George+E+George&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=

If not TECOM we have Indian as well as other multi national firms ready to take up Smart City deal . Now since land is not an issue with almost 250 acres already acquired other developers would flock in once the government clears the air - to partner with TECOM or not:)

Apart from the expansion of Infopark we have more IT projects are in the offing -- Emaar / Muthoot / Sutherland have already been granted SEZ status.

We have more projects from HDIL @ Kalamassery + the biggest SEZ in Kerala promoted by Shoba - hitech City + Salarpuria Knowledge Park project....

upcoming IT projects .:banana:
Great!

SmartCity row to be sorted out soon: Karim

Staff Reporter

KOTTAYAM: Minister for Industries Elamaram Karim has expressed confidence that the row over the SmartCity project would be sorted out within a week.

Speaking to media persons here on Monday, Mr. Karim said Tecom, the Dubai-based promoters of the project, have not said that they have abandoned the project. The State government was committed to the implementation of the project and there was no going back on it, he said. The procedural formalities were being completed.

However, on account of the just concluded general elections, there was some delay in making policy decisions, he said. He also pointed to the statement by Minister for Fisheries, S. Sarma, who had expressed his commitment to implement the project.

To another question, Mr Karim said the government has decided to take over TECIL, Chingavanom, which has remained closed for the past one decade. The management had shown its inability to revive the factory and as such, the government has decided to take it over, including its land.

Many prospective entrepreneurs had evinced interest to start projects on the land, he said. The formal papers regarding the take-over will be handed over to the management by the District Collector soon, he said.

Earlier, speaking at the function organised to extend felicitations to women entrepreneurs, Mr Karim urged banks to join hands with government in implementing projects, especially in the Small Scale Industries sector.

He also wanted the Industries department to come forward to help and encourage entrepreneurs.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/16/stories/2009061655150700.htm

http://i40.tinypic.com/29y8n7.jpg

TECOM's not serious? CM says that !!!!

Kochi needs lessons in ‘sharing’

KOCHI: It’s high time Kochi followed the transport system of major Indian cities. Kochiites need the ‘share auto facility’ badly as the charges of shared autorickshaws will naturally be lower. If the facility is introduced in the city the public need not depend on private buses, which are always jampacked.

Above all, the introduction of the share auto facility will reduce traffic congestion on the city roads.

Ernakulam Road Transport Officer (RTO) C Radhakrishnan said that the department would support any move to introduce the share auto facility in the city. “It is a good suggestion.

We will support the system and do the needful if the authorities take up the suggestion with the State Government,” he said.

Radhakrishnan said that it would help commuters reach their destinations more comfortably at a cheaper rate. “It will be a boon to office-goers during the monsoon. The RTO will support the initiative,” he said.

Ernakulam District Collector M Beena said that the district administration was ready to cooperate with the appellate authorities to introduce the share auto facility.

“We will welcome any transport system that reduces carbon emission and cuts down the number of vehicles on city roads. If the shared auto drivers carry more passengers and cost less, it is a good system,” she said. City Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham said that the police would support the introduction of the share auto system, which is prevalent in metro cities like Chennai.

“It is up to the autorickshaw unions or drivers to approach the authorities to discuss the introduction of such a system in the city. We will support any such initiative and do the needful,” he said.

'We object'

While the entire administration is supporting the idea of introducing the share auto facility in the city, certain unions are learnt to be against it. An official with the Motor Vehicles Department on condition of anonymity said that the department faced stiff resistance from the unions, which had the backing of certain political parties, when they put forward a suggestion to introduce shared autos and call taxis in the city limits. “The union members are being selfish and do not consider the benefit of such a system,” the officer added.

Link (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Kochi+needs+lessons+in+%E2%80%98sharing%E2%80%99&artid=5tl//fuigvw=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=)

Good and practical initiative to start along with carpooling taking cue from Trivandrum. Honestly was under the impression that Kochi has well past this stage and other possible MRTS since they are planning for METRO supposed to be the ultimate in MRTS as of today.

Why is every new Kochi forumer banned?

^^If you have any question like this, you can PM the mods.

BTW Banning is for those which are multiple ids.

South India’s tallest building nearing completion



The Choice Paradise, TripunithuraFAC First Published : 20 Jun 2009 01:34:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 20 Jun 2009 10:37:10 AM IST

TRIPUNITHURA: The ongoing construction of Choice Paradise, Tripunithura, the tallest apartment building in South India, has reached the thirty-second floor.


After completion, the building will have forty floors.

“We have been adopting an environment-friendly approach in the design of Choice Paradise, said Choice Group managing director Jose Thomas. Precautions have been taken to equip the building with facilities to withstand the threat of natural calamities like earthquake. "Nearly 80% of the 1.8 acre-land on which the building is coming up has been kept open. The building is expected to house 132 apartments after completion.

Eighty apartments have already been sold out”, Jose Thomas said.

The official handing over of the building is expected to be held in February 2010. There are provisions for a health club, an area for aged people, a play ground and separate pools for children and women. On the terrace of the building, a specially designed telescope will be installed to facilitate a closer view of the Kochi skyline.

The architectural design of Choice Maria, Choice Group’s next venture, will be done by American architect Setramredy.:)

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=South+India’s+tallest+building+nearing+completion&artid=DMRnh0nAy2I=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=X7s7i|xOZ5Y=&SEO=

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/3917/karting.jpg

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Karting+goes+off+track&artid=tLLlg4tfHGs=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=

Kochi is the only place in Kerala which has a carting track till date ............. Kochi has vast number upmarket / affluent segment of people (unlike other cities) who are affluent enough to afford such sport events.:)

Despite of new ventures, corporation has long way to go in waste management.(unlike other cities) ^^

http://i40.tinypic.com/3515ow7.jpg

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Corporation,+better+watch+out!&artid=AFRmq9Gt3lI=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=

carting is in fact a "find them early" means to get future racing drivers. There was lot of interest in the facility. It is too unfortunate that it is closed. Hope they will find another place.

The bike racing/motocross is also picking up. Initiative should be taken to establish facilities so that the participants can do it in an orderly and safe fashion.

Kochi is the only place in Kerala which has a carting track till date ............. Kochi has vast number upmarket / affluent segment of people (unlike other cities) who are affluent enough to afford such sport events.:)

Sorry, Calicut has this facility since 2001 or even earlier to this.

Despite of new ventures, corporation has long way to go in waste management.(unlike other cities) ^^

http://i40.tinypic.com/3515ow7.jpg

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Corporation,+better+watch+out!&artid=AFRmq9Gt3lI=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=


One of the primary duties of a LSG is to have an efficient waste management system. If the Corporation authorities fail to manage the waste, ultimately it is gonna increase the mosquito problem to 1 thousand times. The mosquito problem in the city is uncontrollable due to the presence of a large number of water bodies with stagnant water. To add up to the trouble, most of these water bodies have zillions of suspended waste materials, which are degenrating and the fowl smell is unbearable.

The pollution of the water bodies and the adjacent areas has also resulted in the decline in the quality of the ground water.

Kochi is the only place in Kerala which has a carting track till date ............. Kochi has vast number upmarket / affluent segment of people (unlike other cities) who are affluent enough to afford such sport events.:)

Jacob, calicut also have a carting track, now they are goin to relocate it to some other place due to road widening on mini bypass to 4 lanes..remember we had it even before kochi had it some 10 years back...:)

[B][B][QUOTE=sanjupalayat;38536978]Jacob, calicut also have a carting track, now they are goin to relocate it to some other place due to road widening on mini bypass to 4 lanes..remember we had it even before kochi had [B][U]it some 10 years back...:)[/[/U[B] [QUOTE]

Yes, Sanju. It must be.
I had used this facility during January 2001.

Govt won’t succumb to pressure: Minister

KOCHI: Amid speculation that the Smart City project may not take off, Electricity Minister A K Balan on Saturday said that the land acquired from KSEB for the project should be given back if TECOM was not interested in the project.

Speaking on the sidelines of inauguration of the mini-industrial estate for SC/ST communities in Kochi he said that the Government would not succumb to TECOM’s pressure tactic.

If the 100-acre land acquired from the KSEB is given back, it will be used for expansion works of Brahmapuram project, he said.

The Government will not allow the Smart City to be converted into a real estate project, Balan said.

“According to market value, the 100 acres of land given by the KSEB would cost Rs 1,000 crore.

But the KSEB got only Rs 7.5 crore as the price of the land,” the minister said.

“It is for setting up a model project in the State that we gave the land at such a low price, he said.

Referring to the statement made by Union Minister E Ahmed, Balan said that the Minister was trying to cover up his inability to bring in projects to the State by making false statement that electricity tariff was high in the State.

While Karnataka and Tamil Nadu provide electricity to the Railways at Rs 3.55 and Rs 3.50 respectively, Kerala gives it at the rate of Rs 2.90 per unit, Balan said.

“We are ready to supply electricity to the railways at least 10 paise less than what other States offer,” he said.

The Minister inaugurated the industrial park for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities.

District Panchayat president P S Shyla inaugurated the Women’s Industrial Park.

Link (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Govt+won%E2%80%99t+succumb+to+pressure:+Minister&artid=SLR|3J6H5ag=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=)

I should admit it. The city government of Kochi is the worst. Absolutely pathetic show. The Thrikakara panchayath, where Infopark and CSEZ are located is also in the same state. I find that there is an element of hate and resentment among the local politicos about the fast development. The line of thought is that they were having an easy life when all these bigwigs came and screwed all that. The floating population don't vote, and they don't join trade unions. Essentially, the development doesn't help the local politicos.

What happens here is despite all those roadblocks.

The tallest apartment in south india nearing completion , 32 floors completed 8 more to go ....

this is the difference between many projects which are in paper and actual ones .. also the construction of their premier project Choice Marina to start from sept. price tag - cool 4 crores such prices are never heard in kerala other than kochi


courtesy ; plus kochinow

Kochi: The work on a multi-storeyed apartment,claimed to be the tallest building in South India '', being built at an estimated cost of rs 75 crore, is nearing completion.

Work on the apartments upto 32 floors, is complete. There are totally 40 floors in the complex, 'Choice Paradise.' Precaution has been taken to equip the building with facilities to withstand the threat of natural calamities like earthquakes, Managing Director of the Choice Group of companies, Jose Thomas, told reporters here.

Of the 132 apartments, 91 have already been already been booked. The apartments range from 1550 square feet to 5000 square feet with two and three bedrooms, he said.

Thomas said they were now charging about rs 4500 per square feet against the previous rate of 2500 per square feet.

The official handing over of the building is expected to be held in February 2010. It will have health club, an area for the elderly, a playground and separate pools for children and women. A specially designed telescope will be installed on the terrace to view the Kochi skyline,he said.

The group will also begin work on its 'high class apartment project' 'Choice Marina' by Septmber this year. The total cost of the project is rs 65 crore with each premium apartments priced between rs three-four crore.
http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=20089

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kochi metro rail project has hit another obstacle with the Planning Commission and the Union Finance Ministry raising objections.

At a news conference here on Sunday, Sports and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Vijayakumar, who is in charge of Railways, said the project would become a reality only if the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared it overriding the objections of the commission and the Ministry which wanted it to be implemented as a Public-Private Partnership project.

url (http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/22/stories/2009062254500100.htm)

Dubai firm set to take over Travancore Rayons


Express News Service
First Published : 21 Jun 2009 01:20:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 21 Jun 2009 10:26:58 AM IST

KOCHI: In the wake of liquidation threats, the State Government will conduct talks with Midland Communications and Engineers LCC, Dubai, on Wednesday for finalising the firm’s offer to takeover Travancore Rayons, Perumbavoor.

Midland was the only company which agreed to the conditions put forward by the government, including, all the existing employees should be reinstated, the outstanding dues to various financial institutions should be paid by the promoter and the land should be used only for industrial purpose.

“Out of the 76 acres of land available, around forty acres are required for the existing plants.

As part of diversification, the remaining land will be used for floating small industrial units”, sources said.

In addition, a carbon di-sulphide plant, a water plant and a cotton pulp plant as well as a steel fabrication unit will be set up at the site.

The firm will be spending around Rs 1,500 crore on the project.

“Though there were around 1400 employees at the time of lay off, now the strength might have come down to around 800 due to retirement and resignation.

Midland has agreed to provide jobs to all the existing employees”, the sources said.

The dues to financial institutions will be paid by the promoters under a one-time settlement scheme. The State Government will waive off various taxes the firm owes to the government.

The High Court had given the State Government time up to June 30 to find a promoter for the firm.

As per the Court order, if the government failed in finding a promoter within the stipulated time, the company would have been liquidated.


http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Dubai+firm+set+to+take+over+Travancore+Rayons&artid=SMW29p8keB0=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=

DOHA: A Qatar-based group of Indian expatriates plans to set up a knowledge village in Cochin, in the country’s southern province of Kerala. The group is hopeful of setting up the village by 2010.

Addressing a press conference at the Garden restaurant, A S Abdul Rasheed, Chairman of Amal Charitable Trust, which is establishing the village, said: “Our dream is an educational destination of global standards modelled on Qatar Foundation or Knowledge Village, Dubai, to impart quality education. We have named this project Knowledge Village Kochi (KVK). To realise this noble vision, we wish to establish and develop multi-disciplinary education centres from kindergarten to post-graduate level, including advanced research. Our endeavour is to develop the KVK into a centre of excellence that can provide quality education meeting international educational standards.”

The KVK is a private charitable establishment founded by Amal Charitable Trust provide people education based upon faith and value systems.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=local_news&month=june2009&file=local_news2009060725927.xml

project would become a reality only if the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared it overriding the objections of the commission and the Ministry which wanted it to be implemented as a Public-Private Partnership project.
I for one, have absolutely no problem in the Public-Private participation. It is the communist government (with whom I don't agree) that objects that concept. Let the project go into a BoT model. Let us see if there are any takers for that. At least the question of viablility will be laid to rest then!

After washing dirty linen in public for months, the State Government and the TECOM have finally decided to sit across the table and sort out the issues relating to the implementation of Smart City project, Kochi.


The State Government got a letter from TECOM authorities on Monday expressing their willingness to come to Thiruvananthapuram for talks on June 27, sources said.

In the wake of the promoters of the project closing the contract with Colin Butchnen for preparing the masterplan of the project, the State Government had entrusted Chief Secretary Neela Gangadharan to negotiate with the TECOM.

It was in reply to the e-mail sent by the Chief Secretary that the TECOM informed the Government that it was ready for talks.

The focus of the discussion will be on the free-hold land issue and the preparation of masterplan and renewal of the lease agreement.

It was the divergence of views of the State Government and the TECOM on the issue of free-hold land that led to the present standstill.

The State Government was not ready to accede to TECOM’s demand to grant the free-hold land right.

Later, the TECOM authorities had made it clear that what they demanded was a re-assurance from the Government that the clause on freehold land will be incorporated in the lease agreement of 110 acres of land handed over to it for setting up the project.

In the director board meetings held earlier, the TECOM had presented the slides of the master plan.

As per the slides and details presented in the director board meetings, the masterplan is almost completed, sources said.:)

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=TECOM-Govt+talks+on+Saturday&artid=nRhcfZvw79Y=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=X7s7i%7CxOZ5Y=&SEO=

The Centre has appointed eight judicial and 15 administrative members to the Armed Forces Tribunal for dispensing cost-effective and speedy justice to the armed forces personnel.



On June 24 last year, the Union Cabinet had given its approval for the creation of 31 posts for the Tribunal — a chairperson, one principal registrar and 29 members. They will be part of the principal bench at New Delhi and eight regional branches.

The setting up of the Tribunal was a long-pending demand of the armed forces personnel as there was a backlog of over 9,800 cases before various high courts. Among the cases, 2,487 will be transferred to the Chandigarh bench, while 2,407 will be adjudicated by the Lucknow bench. The principal bench in New Delhi will take care of 2,306 cases.

The Armed Forces Tribunal Act came into effect on June 15, 2008. The Act deals with all the disputes and complaints regarding the commission, appointments, enrolment and conditions of service of the personnel in the three armed forces. Appeals arising out of orders, findings or sentences of court martial will also be dealt with.

The Tribunal has the powers to initiate contempt proceedings. All appointments to the Tribunal are made in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. The members will hold the post for a period of four years or till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, at a pay scale of Rs 26,000.

The principal bench at New Delhi will have three courts and also jurisdiction over the high court of Delhi. Chandigarh and Lucknow will also have three courts each. The locations of the benches with one court each will be Kolkata, Guwahati, Mumbai, Kochi, Chennai and Jaipur. The Kochi bench will have jurisdiction over Kerala and Karnataka. The Chennai bench will look after Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.:)

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/9615/centre-appoints-armed-forces-tribunal.html

UST Global, a US-based IT services company, is planning to invest $100 million (around Rs 500 crore) over the next 36 months in India.

Speaking to Business Standard, Mike Zerkel, general manage UST Global, said the company would use the amount for setting up a campus at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. The proposed facility would accommodate 8,000 to 10,000 people. The company is looking at a hub and spoke model whereby the Thiruvanthapuram facility would be the hub, while Chennai and Kochi facilities would be spokes.

The company has signed a letter of intent for setting up a 40,000 sft facility in Kochi and planning to employ around 800 people. In Chennai, it has a 1,000-seat capacity campus where 800 people are currently employed.

“We have set a target to invest $100 million in India over the next 36 months,” said Zerkel, adding the company was planning for an IPO in 2010 to increase its capital, which in turn would support company’s investment plan in India. The company is likely to raise money from the US market.

The proposed expansion and investment would also help the company achieve its target of $1 billion by 2012-13 and around 20,000 employees. UST Global is now a $300 million company and employs around 6,300 people.

Of the $300 million, 85 per cent of the business comes from IT services, 10 per cent from infrastructure management and five per cent from BPO operations. The company is looking at converting this to 65 per cent, 20 per cent and 15 per cent respectively over the next 3-5 years.

“We don’t break it down by revenues for India as our 50-plus clients reside in North America and Europe and thus that is where the revenue is tied to,” said Zerkel. The BPO business would continue to be dominated by India.:)

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ust-global-to-invest-rs-500-cr/361780/

KMC,

Please list out the new Hotels U/C in Kochi & the planned ones too.................

KMC,

Please list out the new Hotels U/C in Kochi & the planned ones too.................

Under construction are
1. Holiday Inn
2. Crowne Plaza
3. Marriott

upcoming are
1.Sheraton
2.Muthoot Taj
3.Phoenix Gobal
4.Accor
5.Dreams ( Their second hotel at Silversand island)

also there are many other projects planned , but cant comment as there is no gurantee as to whether they will stick to the orginal business model under the changed scenarios ....

Check this report by Cushmanwakefield on hospitality , Kochi is the only city studied from Kerala
around 1300 rooms will get added in next 3 years.
www.cushmanwakefieldhospitality.com/.../Hospitality%20Report%20-%20The%20Voyage.pdf

Under construction are
1. Holiday Inn
2. Crowne Plaza
3. Marriott

upcoming are
1.Sheraton
2.Muthoot Taj
3.Phoenix Gobal
4.Accor
5.Dreams ( Their second hotel at Silversand island)

also there are many other projects planned , but cant comment as there is no gurantee as to whether they will stick to the orginal business model under the changed scenarios ....



To add on to the list a 5 star category resort @ Kumbalingi promoted by synthite group - the biggest spice extract exporters in Kerala , is also in advanced stages of development.

Another confirmed project is a 5star hotel project & kerala Village set to come up in Port Trust land @ Willington Island for which EOI's would be invited soon.

This would take the total figure to 10 five***** hotels . The highest number in Kerala.:banana:

Commuters from West Kochi can heave a sigh of relief as the construction of the much-awaited road bridge parallel to the existing Venduruthy bridge will be completed soon. With the Cochin Shipyard transferring the land needed for the approach road, which was the last hurdle for the project, the work of the road bridge is progressing at a steady pace. And about 70 percent of the work on the rail bridge has been completed, sources from the Railways said.


The Rs 20 crore Railway overbridge is situated about 10 m from the existing bridge.

According to PWD officials, the work will be completed by the end of this year. “The work of the Venduruthy road bridge is progressing.

The construction of the last pile on the Thevara side has started.

We have already finished the piling work on the Naval Base side,” said Jayaprakash, executive engineer, PWD Road Division.

According to the authorities, it was the delay in allotting the land for the approach road by the Cochin Shipyard that affected the progress of the work.

“We have completed the pile cap work of the constructed piles.

Once the last pile’s capping is over we will enter the next phase of construction that includes the slab and beam work. If the work progresses at this pace we are hopeful of completing the project by December 2009,” said P P Benny, PWD assistant executive engineer.

“It is a heavy structure and special attention must be given even to minute work. Another obstacle that can affect the work is the change in weather and climate conditions. Nearly 60 people are working in three units and we are confident of completing the work within the estimated time,” he added.

The water pipeline on the eastern side was another hurdle for the project. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 37.5 cr and the authorities are trying to complete it within the stipulated budget.

The need for a new parallel bridge arose when the Venduruthy road bridge was damaged by a dredger in 2007. The proposal for constructing the new bridge was submitted by the district administration in August, 2007.:)

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Work+of+parallel+bridges+progress&artid=blDvhBKyHMI=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&SEO=PWD,+P+P+Benny,+Venduruthy&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=

There is a project by KGL Builders coming at Elamkulam , its super luxury project . 1 flat per floor ,of 10 floors . Cost , cool 2 crores...

any one have any updates on this ? just cant imagine do keralites have this much money to spend on a flats even during such recession times.
Choice Marina @ Edakochi being classic example. 4 crores!!! cant digest this extravaganza... Edakochi becoming home to one of kerala's Most luxurious project ...

Heera Hilife Mall, Edapally.
4L sqft area and 150 Crores investment.

http://i39.tinypic.com/24qmzb7.jpg

Chennai Silks
MG Road
Architect: http://santhoshpaul.com/

http://i44.tinypic.com/ta2ezs.jpg

Designed by RSP architects:

Puravankara Marina - mixed used waterfront development | 25.25 acres
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/3633/76907306.jpg

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/5577/96829457.jpg

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/8780/33907027.jpg

Heera Hilife Mall, Edapally.
4L sqft area and 150 Crores investment.

http://i39.tinypic.com/24qmzb7.jpg

HEY....SHAFI, WAT A POST YAAR.....EDAPALLY IS GOIN TO BE THE DESTINATION..................:cheers:

^^ IU, that has been posted here before :)]

The design has been changed from that, I'm afraid

NeST Hightech park have put up a nice flash movie on the site Clicky (http://www.nesthitekpark.com)

HEY....SHAFI, WAT A POST YAAR.....EDAPALLY IS GOIN TO BE THE DESTINATION..................:cheers:

Baanngggg I guess Edapally Maradu Byepass will become as busy as Link Road of Mumbai ....:):) May be around 2015...

^^ IU, that has been posted here before :)]

really? I googled the project up on SSC.com and it didn't display (http://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&q=%22Puravankara+Marina%22+site%3Askyscrapercity.com&aq=f&oq=%22Puravankara+Marina%22&aqi=&aq=f&oq=&aqi=&fp=SL6zGTdSY8Y) any post with renders. What's the new design anyway?

^^ We already have a separate thread up n running on this project IU.:)
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=660062

Here are the new renderings. courtesy Plus, Kochi now.



http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8628/pm1x.jpg (http://img4.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pm1x.jpg)

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/221/pm2l.jpg (http://img188.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pm2l.jpg)

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/6492/pm3.jpg (http://img181.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pm3.jpg)

Any Info on the plans for Ring Road encircling kochi and about some project to 4-lane roads to Muvatupuzha and Cherthala from Kochi?.

any information on mcdonalds or KFC(Oberon?) coming to Kochi?

The ring road is still an "idea". The 4 lane road is to Kothamangalam, not Muvattupuzha. Some money is allocated for that IIRC.

KFC comes to Gold Souk, not Oberon. Oberon have a Krispy Chicken. I haven't heard about McDonalds. Never liked it anyways.

thanks for the info @DileepKS.But about Ring Road there was the plan and all already proposed long back.
Ring Road

In the light of the Vallarpadom International Container Transshipment Terminal it is felt that we should plan for providing an uninterrupted traffic flow corridor starting from Marine Drive through the coastal areas and linking the major existing human settlements like Kothad, Chennur,Varapuzha, Alangad, Aluva, Chengamanad, Keezhmad, Edathala, Puthencruz, Chottanikara, Mulamthuruthy and Udayamperur and crossing NH 17, the New NH AI Container Highway, the NH 47, Sea Port Airport Airport Road and finally meeting the NH 47 at Kumbalam.

Any vehicle Coming to the CBD and the Vallarpadam from the outskirts of the city can reach there without disturbing the city centre traffic movement through this corridor.
http://www.gcdaonline.com/gcda/html/Ring Road.html
--
I read elsewhere that McDonalds will be opening at Oberon.all rumours though.

really? I googled the project up on SSC.com and it didn't display (http://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&q=%22Puravankara+Marina%22+site%3Askyscrapercity.com&aq=f&oq=%22Puravankara+Marina%22&aqi=&aq=f&oq=&aqi=&fp=SL6zGTdSY8Y) any post with renders. What's the new design anyway?

I googled it and it came up.

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/4227/ggle.jpg

@keralite:

Well, GCDA wants to do it, but nothing is happening from the govt. GCDA as it is a dead horse, with no projects, no funding and no seriousness. Politics is also playing its part. The ring road is not going to happen anytime soon for sure.

Oberon have a lot more space in the food court. McDonalds, sure can get space there. I wish more outlets come, because the current ones are way way overcrowded, it is chaos.

GAIL approval for inter-state pipelines

The director board of the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has accorded an investment approval for laying the Kochi–Kanjirkkod–Bangalore– Mangalore pipelines.


The 1,114-km Kochi–Kanjirkkod– Bangalore–Mangalore pipeline, to be laid with an investment of Rs 3,032 crore, includes a foreign exchange component of Rs 18.57 crore.

The design capacity of this pipeline is 16 Million Metric Standard Cubic Meter Per Day(MMSCMD), including 4 MMSCMD as common carrier.

The project will be completed in two phases.

The first phase will be completed by 2011, while the second phase is scheduled to be completed around 2012-13.

In the phase-I of the project, a 96-km pipeline will be laid from Kochi to Aluva (Tap-off) with spur-lines and feederlines to Aluva (SEZ Vypeen Kochi, GTN Textiles), Udyogamandal (Premier Tyres, Kalamassery, REL, FACT-I, Sud- Chemic & Travancore Cochin), Binanipuram (Cochin Minerals & Binani Zinc), Ambalamedu (Kerala Chemicals & Protein Ltd. Kakkanad, FACTII, BPCL Refinery, Hindustan Organic Ltd., Philips Carbon & MILMA) at an estimated investment of Rs 267.50 crore.

In the phase-II, a 1018-km pipeline will be laid from Aluva (Tap-off) to Kanjirkkod, Kanjirkkod to Mangalore and Kanjirkkod to Palakkad with spur-lines and feederlines to Thrissur (Apollo Tyres), Kottakkal (Aryavaidyasala), Kozhikode (KSEB Power Plant), Kannur (Western Plywood, Power Projects), Mangalore (MCF) and Palakkad (Indosil, Precoat & steel industries).

The phase-II also involves laying of pipeline from Palakkad to Bangalore with spurlines and feeder-lines to Coimbatore (Sri Kannapan, Flow Link, CPC, Koval Auto, KG Denim, Van Tax, Texmo Precision, Texmo Industries, Supper Spinning, LG Balakrishnan & Brothers Limited), Trippur (Local area network for SA Textiles Limited), Truchengode and Salem.:banana:

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=GAIL+approval+for+inter-state+pipelines&artid=BDeIC1QvWKk=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=

The city budget for 835 crores is presented.


Rs 1 crore for emergency maintenance of roads.


15 pay and use toilets with bus shelter in BOT scheme


widening of south overbridge


Multilevel parking at four locations


Ponnurunni, atlantis and pachalam overbridges got central funding.


SA Road work tendered


Edapalli-Highcourt road tendered


15 crores for Thammanam-Pullepady road + 4 crores for land


Goshree-Mamangalam road: 27 crores + 21 crores for land


From manorama print edition.

It is understood that by 2011 December, safe & cheap LNG shall be available at Flats & Villas of Kochi through pipeline. Initially 25,000 housing units shall be blessed with this facility. Later on, this utility shall be extended to Hotels & Restaurants. The project has been named God's Own Country Gas.

Anybody has more information in this regard?
Sorry, if the matter had already been posted here.

Kochi is developing rapidly. Nice to see the upcoming projects and development at Kochi… Kochi pazhaya kochi alla… Any news about Metro train, I think within 5 year they need metro train otherwise traffic will sunk the whole city.:bash:

Amritha School of Management (ASM) @ Kochi

ASB’s MBA campus inaugurated



The new MBA campus of the Amrita School of Business (ASB) of the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham was inaugurated by Swami Abhayamrita Chaitanya at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi on Friday. “It is important to provide valuebased education to the young generation,” Abhayamrita Chaitanya said.


The Kochi campus is the only campus where the medical and business campuses co-exist.

Currently, MBA course is being offered at the Coimbatore campus. The course will soon be launched in Bangalore and Kollam also. H Jayaram, executive director and CEO, GMMCO, Sunanda Muraleedharan, Associate Dean, ASB, Kochi, Prem Nair, Medical Director, AIMS, Sanjay Banerjee, Dean, ASB and S Krishnakumar, registrar, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham also spoke.:)

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=ASB’s+MBA+campus+inaugurated&artid=a4m9O51RQ4A=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=

KOCHI: Mayor Mercy Williams on Saturday said that the civic body would go ahead with the proposed public transport system project under which it would run 200 new buses,including low-floor buses.


Addressing the media at a post budget briefing here, the Mayor denied any chance of apprehension over this project. "The Union Urban Development Ministry has allotted Rs 73 crore to Kochi Corporation for purchasing buses. The Corporation is planning to buy 120 low-floor air- conditioned buses, 30 mini and 50 ordinary buses to ensure safe and adequate transportation facilities to the public," she said.

The buses will start service within six months. The Corporation and the KSRTC will float a company to manage the bus service. However, the Mayor said that as the fund was allotted to the Corporation, it would not be possible for the KSRTC to undertake and implement the project all by its own.

Replying to a query, the Mayor said that construction of the new office complex for Corporation, which is in standstill now, would commence soon. "The processes for re-tendering the project is progressing and the work will commence within 3 months," she said.

"The construction of the platform to erect the machineries required for the Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) plant will be completed within one month and it will be functional before August 15. The Corporation will also complete the masterplan for the city soon," she added.:)

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=200+buses+to+be+launched+in+six+months&artid=2y5qYKAuUeg=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=

Asserting that there was no move to privatise the FACT, management of the public sector fertiliser company on Friday announced plans to set up a urea plant at a cost of around Rs 650 crore.


“The company will generate around 20 percent of the total amount, while the remaining amount will be raised from financial institutions”, Atul Chaturvedi, secretary, fertilisers, said at a meeting held on Thursday to launch two new products.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of Zincated Factamfos and Zincated Gypsum and kicking off of the implementation of ER P by software firm SAP, Atul said that the management did not intend to privatise the company which was in the red for some years before turning around last year.

Atul said that the company had all the essential inputs required for a fertiliser company and the capability to operate without any subsidy.

Atul, addressing the company’s board meeting on Friday, had said that the FACT should devise a long-term vision to keep going ahead and should not bank on subsidies. “Business model should be separate from subsidy model,” he said. Reminding the company about the vast immovable assets it owned and that all the parameters were in the company’s favour, he urged to leverage on the assets for the company’s benefit. George Sleeba, CBD, FACT, briefed on the company’s recovery last year and highlighted the features of the new products.

“The new product Zincated Factamfos has a zinc content of 0.3 percent and is a macro-micro nutrient. The other product, Zincated Gypsum, contains 2 percent zinc and plays a major role in integrated plant nutrient management, Sleeba said.

Keeping in tune with the changes in Information Technology, the company has migrated to the ERP-SAP system to integrate and consolidate all of its business applications at a common platform with a centralised data centre.

Mathew C Kunnumkal, additional secretary and financial advisor, Department of Fertilisers and Sudheer Bhargava, joint secretary, Department of Fertilisers offered felicitations.

Ranjan Das, MD, SAP, Indian Subcontinent, and A Asokan, Director (Marketing), FACT, spoke:)

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=FACT+to+remain+public,+plans+to+set+up+new+plant&artid=3W6P4cTXb|w=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=

GAIL approval for inter-state pipelines

The director board of the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has accorded an investment approval for laying the Kochi–Kanjirkkod–Bangalore– Mangalore pipelines.


The 1,114-km Kochi–Kanjirkkod– Bangalore–Mangalore pipeline, to be laid with an investment of Rs 3,032 crore, includes a foreign exchange component of Rs 18.57 crore.

The design capacity of this pipeline is 16 Million Metric Standard Cubic Meter Per Day(MMSCMD), including 4 MMSCMD as common carrier.

The project will be completed in two phases.

The first phase will be completed by 2011, while the second phase is scheduled to be completed around 2012-13.

In the phase-I of the project, a 96-km pipeline will be laid from Kochi to Aluva (Tap-off) with spur-lines and feederlines to Aluva (SEZ Vypeen Kochi, GTN Textiles), Udyogamandal (Premier Tyres, Kalamassery, REL, FACT-I, Sud- Chemic & Travancore Cochin), Binanipuram (Cochin Minerals & Binani Zinc), Ambalamedu (Kerala Chemicals & Protein Ltd. Kakkanad, FACTII, BPCL Refinery, Hindustan Organic Ltd., Philips Carbon & MILMA) at an estimated investment of Rs 267.50 crore.

In the phase-II, a 1018-km pipeline will be laid from Aluva (Tap-off) to Kanjirkkod, Kanjirkkod to Mangalore and Kanjirkkod to Palakkad with spur-lines and feederlines to Thrissur (Apollo Tyres), Kottakkal (Aryavaidyasala), Kozhikode (KSEB Power Plant), Kannur (Western Plywood, Power Projects), Mangalore (MCF) and Palakkad (Indosil, Precoat & steel industries).

The phase-II also involves laying of pipeline from Palakkad to Bangalore with spurlines and feeder-lines to Coimbatore (Sri Kannapan, Flow Link, CPC, Koval Auto, KG Denim, Van Tax, Texmo Precision, Texmo Industries, Supper Spinning, LG Balakrishnan & Brothers Limited), Trippur (Local area network for SA Textiles Limited), Truchengode and Salem.:banana:

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=GAIL+approval+for+inter-state+pipelines&artid=BDeIC1QvWKk=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=

GAIL gas pipe line covers almost all the major industries from Central Kerala to Coimbatore and Tirupur in Tamil Nadu & Mangalore and Bangalore in Karnataka. Hope this would be extended down south for utilization of KMML @ Kollam and TTP & Hindustan Latex @ Trivandrum . Cheap LNG availability would place Kochi in the forefront of industrial development as we would see more industrial units in the area .:)

Kochi is developing rapidly. Nice to see the upcoming projects and development at Kochi… Kochi pazhaya kochi alla… Any news about Metro train, I think within 5 year they need metro train otherwise traffic will sunk the whole city.:bash:

Yup ,

Kochi is growing rapidly . The private sector has played it's part inspite of the indifferent attitude of the civic authorities . Now state government need to go ahead with easing the congestion of the basic amenities like city roads,water supply & solid waste management .

Metro railway is inevitable considering the rapid pace of the developments happening around Kochi . State government need to reconsider it's stand of not allowing private sector to be part of a JV for the proposed metro .:bash:

The metro rail is planned only as a BOT project on the PPP model.

The expression of Interest was invited by KINFRA in Jan 2006 itself.

State government need to reconsider it's stand of not allowing private sector to be part of a JV for the proposed metro .:bash:

Yup ,

Kochi is growing rapidly . The private sector has played it's part inspite of the indifferent attitude of the civic authorities . Now state government need to go ahead with easing the congestion of the basic amenities like city roads,water supply & solid waste management .

Metro railway is inevitable considering the rapid pace of the developments happening around Kochi . State government need to reconsider it's stand of not allowing private sector to be part of a JV for the proposed metro .:bash:

Yes, you are right. The infrastructure is in the hands of Govt, at least they have to acquire the land and give to private party to build it. But sadly our govt authorities are not acting promptly as they have to do. But anyway nice to see Kochi’s development and to become one of the major city of India.

The metro rail is planned only as a BOT project on the PPP model.

The expression of Interest was invited by KINFRA in Jan 2006 itself.

One of the best example of BOT is the new Metro bus stand at Kannur. One of the major contractors at Kannur district “KK builder” built that and they will operate for 30 years then will transfer the ownership to Municipality.

But in case of Metro train the state govt also involved so the policies will be more than a municipality.

The metro rail is planned only as a BOT project on the PPP model.

The expression of Interest was invited by KINFRA in Jan 2006 itself.


May be it was conceived like that then . But state govt is now insisting on the the project being implemented without a private partner.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said in Delhi on Tuesday that the metro rail project in Kochi would be executed on the model of the Delhi metro rail, but without private partnership.
“I discussed with Sreedharan the details of the metro rail proposal for Kochi. As per our plans, the project would be in partnership between the Kerala government and the Central government without any private partnership,” he said.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/04/stories/2009020458290100.htm

DLF Has 8 Million sqft Township coming at Kalamassery designed by Hafeez Contractor .......

This came from a Resume of DLF employee he he he

• Township development at Kalamassery over a plot area 45 acres with a built up of 8 million sqft. (. In co-ordination with Architect Hafeez Contractor and his team for design development.)

http://www.learn4good.com/jobs/language/english/search_resumes/architecture/india/cv/318043/

The metro was originally proposed as PPP, but the govt wouldn't have nothing of it. The single major roadblock is still the contention between the planning commission who insist on PPP, and Achumama who insist govt owned. The failure of Maytas and Hyd metro was expected to ease up the planning commission, but that didn't happen.

AFAIK, the only issues blocking the metro are:

1. Issue on funding. PPP/BOT or Govt.
2. Issue on alignment via MG Road.

IMPO, it should be done under PPP. But the govt is known to be very hostile to PPP, at least to thise companies who don't grease the hands properly. I sure hope they learned the lesson from Pati Bell and Punj Lloyd issues, but that is only a hope.

The newsclip on the city budget:
http://epaper.manoramaonline.com/source/pdf/2009/06/28/20090628AB002102022.jpg

Mohanlal-Priyadarshan team is planning a cricket team for IPL with Sasi Taroor as chairman.A bold move no doubt . It will help in showcasing Kerala to the rest of india especially with the proposed new stadium at Edakkochi coming up in the waterfront. what attracted me most is the name,Kerala city cricketers where the whole Kerala is projected as a city. Visionary thinking. What is left to see is whether we can see Mohanlal in the balcony waving down to the fans and throwing flying kisses .:banana:

Mohanlal-Priyadarshan team is planning a cricket team for IPL with Sasi Taroor as chairman.A bold move no doubt . It will help in showcasing Kerala to the rest of india especially with the proposed new stadium at Edakkochi coming up in the waterfront. what attracted me most is the name,Kerala city cricketers where the whole Kerala is projected as a city. Visionary thinking. What is left to see is whether we can see Mohanlal in the balcony waving down to the fans and throwing flying kisses .:banana:

Never expect Lal to do like that, he is not king khan. But he should be there for sure:banana:

Mohanlal-Priyadarshan team is planning a cricket team for IPL with Sasi Taroor as chairman.A bold move no doubt . It will help in showcasing Kerala to the rest of india especially with the proposed new stadium at Edakkochi coming up in the waterfront. what attracted me most is the name,Kerala city cricketers where the whole Kerala is projected as a city. Visionary thinking. What is left to see is whether we can see Mohanlal in the balcony waving down to the fans and throwing flying kisses .:banana:

Priyadarsan, Mohanlal to float an IPL team!

Last week, Priyadarsan was in his hometown of Thiruvananthapuram on a mission.

He is planning to start a cricket team from Kerala for the next IPL season in 2010, with childhood friend and Malayalam superstar Mohanlal.

“During our school and college days, we had a cricket team, City Cricketers, for which I used to open the innings; Mohanlal was the all rounder and pinch hitter. Some of our team members played in the Ranji Trophy for Kerala, while others got into Malayalam film industry,” says Priyadarsan getting nostalgic.
Now, he is working towards his dream of having an IPL team from Kerala, with the tacit support of the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA), affiliated to BCCI, which is looking to add more teams to the premier T-20 tournament.

Says Mohanlal, “We’re trying to nurture local talent, as the most successful IPL players this year have been little known guys like Manish Pandey, Pragyan Ojha, and Kamran Khan. There are a lot of youngsters in the small towns of Kerala and Tamil Nadu waiting to get a break. They have the talent, but lack exposure and world class training facilities.”

“Thanks to Shah Rukh Khan, we were able to send five promising lads — Mohammed Niaz, Mohammed Sanuth, Rohan Prem, P Prashanth and teenage batting sensation Sanju V Samson — to attend the selection trials of the Kolkata Knight Riders. They might not have made it to the team, but they got to see how international players train and the exposure has helped them,” adds Priyadarsan.

The duo has roped in Shashi Tharoor, the Thiruvananthapuram MP and the new Union Minister of State for External Affairs as chairman of their team, to be called City Cricketers.

Two NRIs and a few corporates are willing to fund the project which will cost around Rs 250 crore. The team will have its own state-of-the-art cricket stadium near Kovalam. Former Indian player and fielding coach Robin Singh has been signed as the technical director.

“The KCA will approach the BCCI with our proposal, and if all goes well, we will start our IPL innings next year,” concludes Priyadarsan.

Link (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/Priyadarsan-Mohanlal-to-float-an-IPL-team/articleshow/4671836.cms)

Govt-Tecom Talks likely on July 1

KOCHI: The State Government has informed the TECOM that July 1 or 2 would be convenient for the former to hold talks for sorting out the differences between the two with regard to various issue, including the free-hold land.

After the promoters of the project closed contract with Colin Butchnen for preparing the masterplan of the project, the State Government had entrusted Chief Secretary Neela Gangadharan to negotiate with the TECOM. In the reply to an e-mail sent by the Chief Secretary, the TECOM had informed the Government that it was ready for talks.

"We had informed that July 1 or 2 would be convenient date for us.

Now, we are awaiting the reply from the TECOM," said Neela.

In the wake of the Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan's statement in the Assembly that the Government was yet to identify the land to be given to the TECOM with free-hold right, arriving at a consensus on the issue seems to be difficult.

The TECOM authorities made it clear that they had demanded a reassurance from the Government that the clause on 'free-hold land' would be incorporated in the lease agreement of the 110 acres of land involved in the deal.

At the same time, the Chief Minister and Fisheries Minister S Sarma had stated that the talks could be conducted staying within the framework agreement.

Link (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Govt-Tecom+Talks+likely+on+July+1&artid=Gj/goJvLqMM=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=)

Good to see continuing positive effort by government.

Planning Commission approves kochi metro rail project:

Kochi rockkkkkkkksss :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?articleType=Malayalam+News&contentId=5650869&tabId=11&contentType=EDITORIAL&BV_ID=@@@

It is understood that by 2011 December, safe & cheap LNG shall be available at Flats & Villas of Kochi through pipeline. Initially 25,000 housing units shall be blessed with this facility. Later on, this utility shall be extended to Hotels & Restaurants. The project has been named God's Own Country Gas.

Anybody has more information in this regard?
Sorry, if the matter had already been posted here.

Kochi all set to have a city gas supply network by 2012


Your kitchen will have piped gas by 2012

Come 2012, cooking gas will be supplied through pipes to kitchens in Bangalore and a few other cities in the state. The state Cabinet, which met here on Thursday, gave its approval to the proposed gas pipeline project to be executed by the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) in cooperation with the state’s Urban Infrastructure Development Department.

The Rs 2,500-crore project will bring CNG to Bangalore through pipes.

GAIL will lay two gas pipelines — one from Dhabol to Bangalore and another from Kochi to Bangalore via Mangalore — each with a capacity to carry 16 million cubic metres of gas. Both the pipelines will have lateral tapping points to ensure the supply of gas to cities and towns enroute to Bangalore from Dhabol and Kochi.

Home Minister V S Acharya said the government would only play a facilitator’s role.

The gas pipeline project will also has the capacity to generate between between 5,000 MW to 6 000 MW of power, the Minister said.

In the first phase, 402 km pipeline will be laid from Dabhol to Gokak along with spurlines to Belgaum and Goa and is scheduled to be completed by 2011-12. In part B of phase I, 570 km pipeline will be laid from Gokak to Bangalore (KPCL, Bidadi) along with spur lines/ feeder lines to Bangalore and is scheduled to be completed by 2011-12/ 2012-13.

In phase II, 417 km feeder lines will be laid to Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Sangali, Bijapur, Dharwad, Davangere, Harihar and Tumkur and is scheduled to be completed by 2012- 13/2013-14.:banana:

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Your+kitchen+will+have+piped+gas+by+2012&artid=n1%7Cqj/wj3ms=&SectionID=Qz/kHVp9tEs=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=UOaHCPTTmuP3XGzZRCAUTQ==&SEO=

Demand in the Indian residential market is expected to turn positive in 2010 due to improvement in affordability, steady economic growth and greater liquidity, says a Crisil research report on the real estate sector.

However, the decline in the currently overpriced capital values of all three real estate segments of residential, commercial and retail will persist through 2009. Commercial and retail markets will continue to see erosion of lease rentals in the next two years, it says.

The report is an analysis of over 400 areas across 88 micro-markets in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai-MMR, National Capital Region and Pune.

Mr Sudhir Nair, Head, Crisil Research, said: “Accelerated growth of Indian economy, recovery of global economy, improved liquidity and expected fall in interest rates are key factors that will signal demand revival in the residential segment. This segment is likely to see a much faster revival due to a strong underlying demand for housing and supply coming at attractive price points.”

The demand in the commercial and retail segments is likely to remain under stress the next two years owing to excess supply and weak offtake, he added.

The report says capital values for residential sector and lease rentals for commercial and retail properties had substantially corrected till March due to a slowdown in both the domestic and global economies, and also due to real estate becoming unaffordable.

Kochi, Chandigarh and Pune, which have greater investor presence as against end-users, saw a greater fall in capital values compared to other cities. The situation is expected to continue through 2009 and 2010, particularly in the commercial and retail segments.

However, Crisil Research believes that demand for houses will improve in 2010, backed by lower home loan interest rates as well as better job security owing to higher growth in the economy.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/06/25/stories/2009062551170500.htm

Planning Commission approves kochi metro rail project:

Kochi rockkkkkkkksss :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?articleType=Malayalam+News&contentId=5650869&tabId=11&contentType=EDITORIAL&BV_ID=@@@

Thats a Fantastic News.....good atleast our MP's are putting pressure for this prestigious project .. afterall there are 5 MP's who are settled in Kochi , hope they will stand united to get this project to logical conclusion....

It is frontpage news in todays manorama.

The online news is concise:

കൊച്ചി മെട്രോ റയില്* പദ്ധതിക്ക് ആസൂത്രണ കമ്മിഷന്* അംഗീകാരം

കൊച്ചി മെട്രോ റയില്* പദ്ധതിക്ക് ആസൂത്രണ കമ്മിഷന്* അംഗീകാരം. പദ്ധതി കേന്ദ്ര സംസ്ഥാന സര്*ക്കാരുകള്* സംയുക്തമായി നടപ്പാക്കുമെന്ന് കേന്ദ്ര നഗരവികസന മന്ത്രി എസ് ജയ്പാല്* റെഡ്ഡി അറിയിച്ചു. പദ്ധതിക്ക് അനുമതി നല്*കുന്നത് നഗരവികസന വകുപ്പിന്റെ നൂറുദിന കര്*മപരിപാടിയില്* ഉള്*പ്പെടുത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. ജവഹര്*ലാല്* നെഹ്റു നഗര പുനരുദ്ധാരണ പദ്ധതിയില്* കോഴിക്കോടിനെ ഉള്*പ്പെടുത്തുമെന്നും അദ്ദേഹം അറിയിച്ചു.

Planning Commission approves kochi metro rail project:

Kochi rockkkkkkkksss :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:



Awesome news!!

And here is the newsclip from Manorama with details.

http://epaper.manoramaonline.com/source/pdf/2009/06/30/20090630AA001102006.jpg

FACT comes up with kerala's biggest convention centre @ udyogamandal , Kochi

കൊച്ചിയില്* 250 കോടിയുടെ വ്യാപാരകേന്ദ്രം നിര്*മിക്കുന്നു

തിരുവനന്തപുരം: കൊച്ചിയില്* 250 കോടി രൂപ ചിലവു വരുന്ന വ്യാപരകേന്ദ്രം നിര്*മിക്കാന്* സംസ്*ഥാന വ്യവസായ വികസന കോര്*പ്പറേഷനും ഫാക്*ടും ധാരണയായി.

ഉദ്യോഗമണ്*ഡലില്* എഫ്*.എ.സി.ടിയുടെ കൈവശമുള്ള മുപ്പത്ത്* ഏക്കറിലാണ്* വ്യാപാര കേന്ദ്രം വരുന്നത്*. പ്രദര്*ശനകേന്ദ്രം, ഷോപ്പിങ്* കോംപ്ലക്*സ്*, ഫൈവ്* സ്*റ്റാര്* ഹോട്ടല്* എന്നിവയ്*ക്ക്* പുറമെ നാലായിരം പേരെ ഉള്*ക്കൊള്ളുന്ന ഒരു കണ്*വെന്*ഷന്* സെന്ററും ഈ വ്യാപര കേന്ദ്രത്തിലുണ്ടാകും. കെ.എസ്*.ഐ.ഡി.സിക്കും ഫാക്*ടിനും പുറമെ മറ്റ്* പൊതുമേഖലാ സ്*ഥാപനങ്ങള്*ക്കും ഈ സംരംഭവത്തില്* പങ്കാളിത്തമുണ്ടാകും


http://mathrubhumi.com/php/newFrm.php?news_id=1236526&n_type=HO&category_id=3&Farc=&previous=Y

Planning Commission approves kochi metro rail project:

Kochi rockkkkkkkksss :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?articleType=Malayalam+News&contentId=5650869&tabId=11&contentType=EDITORIAL&BV_ID=@@@

Good news:banana:

It is one of the biggest infrastructure developments for Kochi.:banana:
They planned with in 3 year to complete the project but the acquisition of the land will be big hazard.

The article gives an issue related to investor presence rather than end users. Kochi, Chandigarh and Pune, which have greater investor presence as against end-users, saw a greater fall in capital values compared to other cities. The situation is expected to continue through 2009 and 2010, particularly in the commercial and retail segments.

Demand in the Indian residential market is expected to turn positive in 2010 due to improvement in affordability, steady economic growth and greater liquidity, says a Crisil research report on the real estate sector.

However, the decline in the currently overpriced capital values of all three real estate segments of residential, commercial and retail will persist through 2009. Commercial and retail markets will continue to see erosion of lease rentals in the next two years, it says.

The report is an analysis of over 400 areas across 88 micro-markets in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai-MMR, National Capital Region and Pune.

Mr Sudhir Nair, Head, Crisil Research, said: “Accelerated growth of Indian economy, recovery of global economy, improved liquidity and expected fall in interest rates are key factors that will signal demand revival in the residential segment. This segment is likely to see a much faster revival due to a strong underlying demand for housing and supply coming at attractive price points.”

The demand in the commercial and retail segments is likely to remain under stress the next two years owing to excess supply and weak offtake, he added.

The report says capital values for residential sector and lease rentals for commercial and retail properties had substantially corrected till March due to a slowdown in both the domestic and global economies, and also due to real estate becoming unaffordable.

Kochi, Chandigarh and Pune, which have greater investor presence as against end-users, saw a greater fall in capital values compared to other cities. The situation is expected to continue through 2009 and 2010, particularly in the commercial and retail segments.

However, Crisil Research believes that demand for houses will improve in 2010, backed by lower home loan interest rates as well as better job security owing to higher growth in the economy.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/06/25/stories/2009062551170500.htm

site for DLF's Kalamassery project:

June 21
Copyright Renu
http://picasaweb.google.com/raynoo/AppachiSNewHouseSite

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/824/dsc07678h.jpg

Hey IU, thats a jumbo-find! cool ;)
thanks for the link

Info park project; 40,000 to get employment : Chief Minister (http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-64433.html)

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 30 : Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan today told the Assembly that nearly 40,000 people would get employment
once the first phase of Info Park project at Kochi, was completed.

n a written reply to Ms K S Saleekha of the CPI(M) and others, he said the Info Park was being set up in 101 acre of land and the construction on 20 lakh sq ft had already been completed. The remaining work was progressing.

Mr Achuthanandan said the government was expecting around Rs 700 crore private investment through IT firms and IT developers in the first phase of the Info Park and Rs 443 crore in the Techno Park.

He said the IT Mission in the state had received Rs 50 crore for implementing Centrally sponsored programmes.

The government had also started an institution, ''Insight'' to impart training to visually impaired people in the state, he added.

NeST Hightech park have put up a nice flash movie on the site Clicky (http://www.nesthitekpark.com)
Thanks to PLUS on KochiNow, here is the youtube clip:
Youtube Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNLt6cAX_oM)

The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and the FACT will form a joint venture company to establish a world class trade and exhibition centre in Kochi.

The centre will come up on 30 acres of land owned by FACT at Udyogamandal in Kochi. This land will be the share of FACT in the new JV company. The KSIDC in collaboration with other state PSUs will chip in the remaining 50 percent equity for the project. A convention complex will also be part of the project.

The centre is expected to make strong Kochi’s position as a MICE destination.

The project estimate will be Rs.250 crore.

A convention centre capable of accommodating 4,000 persons, a five-star hotel, a shipping complex and related facilities are envisaged in the project, said a press note issuedby the KSIDC. :banana:

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Trade+centre+coming+up+at+Udyogamandal&artid=B/tXK3mBe1Q=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=X7s7i%7CxOZ5Y=&SEO=

^^Spot On - Shipping Complex envisaged as a part of the project would accommodate the International Shipping companies setting up their offices in Kochi once Vallarpadom project is commissioned. Similarly an "Airlines Tower" is being planned as a part of the LULU Mall @ Edapally would house the Airline offices in Kochi under one roof. Kochi -- Truly the commercial hub:)

Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Government of Kerala's Department of Industries and Commerce and the Central Bank will organise an exhibition 'Focus Kerala - World Investors Meet' on medium to mega-size projects in Kochi. Non-resident Indians and foreign investors will be invited at the exhibition, which is scheduled to take place from July 24-25, 2009.

Projects in tourism, food processing, infrastructure, information technology, rural retail, media, financial services, education, manufacturing industries and logistics will be showcased. Visitors will get a glimpse about the investment opportunities for home stays and hotels in Trivandrum, farm tourism in Alappuzha, eco tourism and ayurvedic resorts in Malappuram and adventure tourism in Wayanad.:)

http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/kochi-to-host-exhibition-on-various-hotel-and-tourism-projects-7201

Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Government of Kerala's Department of Industries and Commerce and the Central Bank will organise an exhibition 'Focus Kerala - World Investors Meet' on medium to mega-size projects in Kochi. Non-resident Indians and foreign investors will be invited at the exhibition, which is scheduled to take place from July 24-25, 2009.



Projects in tourism, food processing, infrastructure, information technology, rural retail, media, financial services, education, manufacturing industries and logistics will be showcased. Visitors will get a glimpse about the investment opportunities for home stays and hotels in Trivandrum, farm tourism in Alappuzha, eco tourism and ayurvedic resorts in Malappuram and adventure tourism in Wayanad.



http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/kochi-to-host-exhibition-on-various-hotel-and-tourism-projects-7201



Kochi would indeed be the best MICE location in South India in 5 years time.

The track to Metro Rail

KOCHI: With the Planning Commission giving the green signal to the Kochi Metro Rail project, the ball is now in the court of the State Government. From land acquisition to augmentation of existing infrastructure, the State Government has to complete a lot of facilitation work before starting the construction.

Of these, issuance of sanction for the project is the first thing that the State Government has to do. Only then can the government issue the order for land acquisition.

The revenue officials have already started the survey work, though the order in this regard is yet to be issued by the State Government. The revenue officials in the district have completed peg marking of alignment in all the seven villages except Ernakulam. The peg marking in the Ernakulam area couldn’t be completed due to protest by traders against the alignment through MG Road. The survey work has been completed in Aluva West and Thrikkakkara North villages.

We have handed over the report to the survey superintendent,’’ said T K Baby, tahsildar, land acquisition. The survey is progressing in Edappally South and Edappally North villages. Poonithura, Elamkulam and Ernakulam are the other villages where the survey is yet to be started.

A lot of infrastructure is required to start the work. The Rail India Technical and Economic Studies (RITES), which conducted the primary study for the project, stresses the need to construct new roads and augment existing roads. A parallel road for MG Road should be in place before the construction of Metro Rail begins. The Thammanam-Pullepady Road should be made functional.

The access road that connects various pockets in the city to the Metro Rail should be constructed.

While 22 new roads or missing links are to be constructed, 16 corridors or sections require widening.

Railway overbridges are to be constructed without delay. A flyover is required off Salim Rajan Road to NH Bypass through which vehicular traffic from KSRTC stand area can be diverted.

The four-lane work of Vyttilla-Petta stretch is another important requirement.

Given the fact that a lot of co-ordination among various government departments is needed, floating of a company is of great significance.

A company on the lines of Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) is necessary to co-ordinate the work.

Link (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=The+track+to+Metro+Rail&artid=yQbcYiDyu5w=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=)

Beginning of a dream run (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Beginning+of+a+dream+run&artid=MAXA5pcDE|w=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=E%20Sreedharan,%20Delhi%20Metro%20Rail)

Express News Service
First Published : 02 Jul 2009 12:47:00 AM IST
Last Updated :

KOCHI: The 25.253 km Kochi Metro Rail Project from Aluva to Pettah will have 24 stations, of which 21 will be completed in the first phase. The first metro station will be near the existing Aluva railway station.

According to the report presented by E Sreedharan of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, ‘Starting from a point about 70 m from the southern end of the goods shed at Aluva railway station, the corridor runs parallel to the existing track up to chainage km 1.400.

Thereafter the alignment starts rising and becomes fully elevated as it reaches the median of NH 47 at chainage km 1.660. From this point the alignment runs along the median of NH 47’.

Land for setting up the metro station at Aluva has been earmarked. The distance from Aluva metro station to the next proposed station at Pulinchodu is about 1 km. The portion of land earmarked for the metro station comprises both railway property and a small portion of private property.

“The Aluva metro station will be located adjacent to the existing Aluva railway station. Since the major portion is Railways land, land acquisition won’t be an issue. The private property to be acquired is a school compound,’’ said officials of the Kochi Metro Rail project.

The number of passengers using the Aluva metro station in 2011 has been estimated as 3636 boarding from here and 1481 alighting here. The number of passengers boarding from here in 2015 has been estimated as 5783 while the number of passengers alighting here would be 1685 in 2015, the project report said.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2j1mlg8.jpg

The KP Varkey project is on DH road, between Bimbis and Pizza hut.

Chennai Silks to open @ Kochi

The commercial capital of Kerala is all set to have a new shopping experience with another biggie ----------- The Chennai Silks.It's a nine storey building @MG Road with 1.25 lakh sq feet of area with a project cost of Rs.60 crores. :nuts:

Another reason for shoppers all across Kerala to vist Kochi.:)

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentType=EDITORIAL&programId=1073753761&articleType=Malayalam%20News&contentId=5668411&BV_ID=@@@

Planning Commission approves kochi metro rail project:

Kochi rockkkkkkkksss :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?articleType=Malayalam+News&contentId=5650869&tabId=11&contentType=EDITORIAL&BV_ID=@@@

The manorama report is misleading.

Source = http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/03/stories/2009070354740500.htm

Kochi metro: Minister writes to Manmohan

The Kochi metro railway project should be implemented strictly on the lines of the Delhi metro project, the State government has reiterated.

Law Minister M. Vijayakumar has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Urban Development Secretary on Wednesday in this regard.

‘Reports misleading’

Mr. Vijayakumar said news reports that clearance was given to the project was misleading. He said what really happened was that the Planning Commission, which had earlier opposed the project, had now agreed to the proposal with certain conditions which were not acceptable to the State government.

A sweet surprise for Kochi :banana:




Much to its surprise, Kochi got a handful of gifts from Mamata’s Railway Budget 2009 on Friday. It has been announced that the Ernakulam Junction Railway Station will be modernised and elevated to a ‘world class’ station with international amenities.Apart from this, the Railway Minister has promised that a multi-functional commercial complex will be set up in Ernakulam.

There’s a slew of packages for Kochi that include a new Ernakulam - New Delhi nonstop train and another Ernakulam-Goa train. The Thiruvananthapuram - Ernakulam Jan Shatabdi Express has been extended to Kozhikode. A feasibility study will be conducted for the Ernakulam-Madurai railway line. The Ernakulam - Trichy Express has been extended to Nagoor.

The modernisation of Ernakulam Junction Railway Station will be through public- private partnership. Though the Railways had a project for a multi-level complex at Ernakulam Town Railway Station, it has remained on paper for quite a long time.

The commercial complex will have restaurants, dormitories, rest rooms, cafes, internet kiosks, food plazas and parking facilities.:banana::banana::banana:


NEW TRAINS FOR KOCHI


* Ernakulam-New Delhi nonstop * Ernakulam-Goa train * Thiruvananthapuram- Ernakulam Jan Shatabdi Express extended to Kozhikkode * Ernakulam-Trichy Express extended to Nagoor

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=A+sweet+surprise+for+Kochi&artid=wayo1xAawbQ=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=Kochi,%20%20Mamata,%20%20Railway%20Budget

Chennai Silks to open @ Kochi

The commercial capital of Kerala is all set to have a new shopping experience with another biggie ----------- The Chennai Silks.It's a nine storey building @MG Road with 1.25 lakh sq feet of area with a project cost of Rs.60 crores. :nuts:

Another reason for shoppers all across Kerala to vist Kochi.:)

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentType=EDITORIAL&programId=1073753761&articleType=Malayalam%20News&contentId=5668411&BV_ID=@@@

Kochi ios undoubtedly the choice for Big brands....

The manorama report is misleading.
The following report quotes the statement in the assembly by the minister

Metro Rail top priority of Govt (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=%E2%80%98Metro+Rail+top+priority+of+Govt%E2%80%99&artid=X5|ZAs/0seE=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=X7s7i|xOZ5Y=&SEO=)

First Published : 03 Jul 2009 12:59:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 03 Jul 2009 11:34:51 AM IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Implementing the Kochi Metro rail project is a top priority of the Government, Fisheries Minister S.Sharma informed the Assembly on Thursday.

“The Planning Commission has approved the project and the Government will try to begin the work at the earliest,’’ he said. Sharma was substituting Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, who was not present in the House, to reply to a calling attention motion moved by K Babu.

<snip>



So, S. Sarma, representing the CM, states that the planning commission has approved the project. That is true.

M. Vijayakumar, minister of railways, says that the govt doesn't agree with that approval, since some conditions of the approval are not acceptable to the govt. I my honest opinion, that must also be true.

This is a TEXTBOOK case study of the woes of Cochin. Considering the political situation of the state, and the influence matrix of the sources, I don't feel jubilant about the planning commission approval at all. It is very easy to raise "conditions" and "objections" to any project, and delay it or shoot it down.

:wallbash:

Kochi-based Sargam Builders, a construction firm with more than two decades of experience in the development of residential and commercial properties, is developing a 10-storey residential-cum-hospitality apartment on the Vallarpadam Island off Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
The 100-unit complex consists of an array of studio, single, two, three and four bed-room apartments and two pent-houses, overlooking the scenic backwaters and the Arabian Sea.
Being built in the vicinity of the Catholic shrine of Vallarpadathamma, now elevated to the status of a basilica, the project – Pearl Kochi, is located less than 500m from the entrance of the new Rajiv Gandhi International transshipment terminal, scheduled for opening later this year.
The promoter, V K A Rahim, describes it as a “place to live for generations and savour the scenic beauty of the Queen of Arabian Sea”.
This is the group’s fourth project.
Rahim is available for consultations until tomorrow at Ramada Plaza Hotel.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=301172&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO), Britain, the first tourism industry association in the world to incorporate into its business charter a commitment to Responsible travel and green tourism, has selected Kochi as the venue for its annual conference which will be held from November 18 to 22.


``We decided to go somewhere exotic and different, somewhere exciting, and in a place AITO has not been before,’’ said AITO chairman Derek Moore.

Derek, accompanied by AITO vice-chairman John Gillies, had visited Kochi last month to hold discussions with Kerala Tourism officials.

``With the help of our friends at Kerala Tourism, I am sure this will be a conference to remember, and a perfect antidote to a difficult year for all of us,’’ Derek said.

Kerala Tourism officials have welcomed the news with big cheer. ``We are honoured to host AITO and we will do our best to see that all delegates have a meaningful and enjoyable time in Kerala,’’ Tourism Secretary Dr V Venu said.

``The conference is expected to bring significant gains for the host destination, as it will bring together business-owners, key decision makers and reputed operators from the UK, the biggest inbound market for Kerala,’’ Venu said.

According to Tourism Director M Shivshankar, the hosting of AITO conference will be a big boost for the promotion of Kerala in the UK. Shivshankar said the UK contributed over 1,40,000 tourists in 2008, with a nearly 25 percent market share of the total international arrivals to the State.

The AITO comprises independent companies, most of them owner-managed, specialising in particular destinations or types of holidays.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Kochi+chosen+venue+of+AITO+meet&artid=vpxFCGEiSSE=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts&SEO=

Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO), Britain, the first tourism industry association in the world to incorporate into its business charter a commitment to Responsible travel and green tourism, has selected Kochi as the venue for its annual conference which will be held from November 18 to 22.


``We decided to go somewhere exotic and different, somewhere exciting, and in a place AITO has not been before,’’ said AITO chairman Derek Moore.

Derek, accompanied by AITO vice-chairman John Gillies, had visited Kochi last month to hold discussions with Kerala Tourism officials.

``With the help of our friends at Kerala Tourism, I am sure this will be a conference to remember, and a perfect antidote to a difficult year for all of us,’’ Derek said.

Kerala Tourism officials have welcomed the news with big cheer. ``We are honoured to host AITO and we will do our best to see that all delegates have a meaningful and enjoyable time in Kerala,’’ Tourism Secretary Dr V Venu said.

``The conference is expected to bring significant gains for the host destination, as it will bring together business-owners, key decision makers and reputed operators from the UK, the biggest inbound market for Kerala,’’ Venu said.

According to Tourism Director M Shivshankar, the hosting of AITO conference will be a big boost for the promotion of Kerala in the UK. Shivshankar said the UK contributed over 1,40,000 tourists in 2008, with a nearly 25 percent market share of the total international arrivals to the State.

The AITO comprises independent companies, most of them owner-managed, specialising in particular destinations or types of holidays.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Kochi+chosen+venue+of+AITO+meet&artid=vpxFCGEiSSE=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts&SEO=


This is a good move. Yesterday's Gulf Malayalam News papers had reported this. The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) meet that happens every year at Trivandrum and the AITO Meet would together boost up the tourism economy of the State.

http://www.keralalistings.com/photo1/P000110

Ultima Builders Aero sky (http://www.keralalistings.com/projects.php?id=P000110)

It is a favourable Budget for Kochi. The city has gained the maximum fund allocations in the Union Budget 2009-10 presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee before Parliament on Monday. As per the Budget allocations, about Rs 500 crore will be spent in the city for different development projects. But it’s significant to note that the Budget has not mentioned any specific fund allocation for the much-discussed Kochi Metro Rail project.


An amount of Rs 180 crore has been allocated for Cochin Shipyard of which Rs 120 crore has been given as subsidy while Rs 60.21 has been earmarked for shipbuilding.

Rs 99.97 crore has been given to the Cochin Port Trust for dredging purposes. Rs 47 crore has been granted as a capital deposit for the development of Cochin Port. In addition to this, Rs 19.55 crore has been given for improving the health system at the Cochin Port.

The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT) has been allocated Rs 34 crore as plan investment fund. The Budget has allocated Rs 45 crore for establishing rail connectivity to the proposed Vallarpadom Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) project.

Rs 5.04 crore has been earmarked for the development of Cochin Special Economic Zone (SEZ). There are other national projects coming up in and around Kochi for which funds have been allocated in the Union Budget.

The Spices Board got Rs 56.28 crore while Rs 105 crore has been allocated for Rubber Board. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has been given Rs 95 crore in the Budget.:)

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Kochi+has+a+lot+to+cheer+about&artid=/Pt/5WsE6LQ=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&SEO=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=

Online hotel reservations at Kerala Tourism web site
The official website of Kerala Tourism - www.keralatourism.org - has introduced an online reservation facility for hotels and resorts within Kerala. The facility was introduced as part of Kerala Tourism’s efforts to assist travelers to plan and book rooms in Kerala much easier and faster. Besides hotels and resorts, properties like ayurvedic centers, homestays, and houseboats are also available online.

Nearly nine hundred properties in Kerala have enrolled to avail of the online facility, out of which 92 of them have already started offering reservations through this platform. With the facility in place, rooms can be booked online any time by visiting www.keralatourism.org. Now one hundred thousand room nights are available for reservation. This covers destinations like Alappuzha, Kumarakom, Munnar, Periyar, Wayanad, Kochi, and Kozhikode, etc. Rooms can be booked online by using major credit cards, debit cards, net banking, and other facilities like Pay Pal.

The specialty of this reservation platform is that payment made for a reservation is going directly to the account of the property. The online reservation engine was developed and is being maintained by www.webcrs.com.

According to Dr. Venu V., secretary, Kerala Tourism, with the introduction of online reservation facility, the ten-year-old website - www.keralatourism.org - has become more resourceful and user-friendly.

Bringing all the hotels, homestays, farm-stays, ayurvedic resorts, etc. in Kerala under the purview of an online reservation system is the next goal, said Mr. M. Sivasankar, director, Kerala Tourism.

The online reservation system will be formally launched on July 8

http://www.travelvideo.tv/news/india/07-06-2009/online-hotel-reservations-at-kerala-tourism-web-site

The official website of Mammootty has been given a face-lift. The site www.mammootty.com (http://www.mammootty.com), which was re-launched on Sunday, is a single stop destination for the visitor to know everything about the actor.


Features like Mammootty on the Move, Community Portal, Twitter Updates, Blog, different types of photos and video galleries, rare collection of photographs, movie posters, CD covers and paper cuttings make it a new interactive experience, according to City-based Easysoft Technologies, which is managing the website under the guidelines of the actor. Director Joshiy inaugurated the modified website.

Speaking on the occasion, Mammootty said that he wanted the site to be an interactive portal rather than a mere website.

“More than a site, the modified portal will serve as a medium, which will be beneficial to the people. Through features like bloodbank.mammootty.com, those who are interested in donating blood can register with the site. Users can also search for donors through this site. We are also planning to include charity, so that the site will also work as a charitable society,” said Mammootty.

The site also provides the latest updates on Mammootty’s upcoming projects along with the reports of his previously released movies. The standout feature is the provision of resource contribution from his fans.

Fans can now register and upload their valuable collections to the website and can earn points with the top 20 resource contributors getting an opportunity to dine with the actor.

The site also contains a section, clubm.mammootty.com, which offers all the features provided by leading community portals like Orkut and Facebook.

Directors Sibi Malayil, B Unnikrishnan, Renji Panicker and actor Prithviraj were also present on the occasion.:banana::banana::banana::banana:

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Mammootty+website+relaunched&artid=xSLKhTvKduQ=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&SectionName=X7s7i|xOZ5Y=&SEO=Mammootty,%20Sibi%20Malayil,%20B%20Unnikrishnan,%20Renji%20Pan

& folks can anyone plzz post pics of Mohanlal & Mamookas bungalow's @ Kochi.

Miss Kerala, the beauty pageant being organised by Impresario, is all set to roll as the mega event has been officially declared open.


Kerala will see the crowning of the next Malayali beauty on July 31 and this year the pageant will cover other parts of India too. The regional auditions will take place at Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi.

Girls of Malayali origin (either of the parents must be Malayali) between the age group of 16-24 with a minimum height of 5.2 ft can take part in the contest. The entry will be open from July 6 to July 17. Applications should be sent to misskerala@misskerala.net along with a profile and latest photographs.

The tenth season of the talent hunt will be sponsored by the ITC-owned brand Vivel for the second time. This time the theme of the contest will be ‘beauty with a purpose’ and to keep in tune with the theme the pageant is associated with ‘Save the Girl Child’ mission, a project of FOGSI. The winner of Vivel Miss Kerala- 2009 will be working for the project educating others against the practice of foetal sex determination and female foeticide.

Other than the main title, beauties will compete for a number of subtitles including Miss Beautiful Hair, Miss Beautiful Skin, Miss Beautiful Eyes, Miss Beautiful Smile, Miss Perfect Ten, Miss Photogenic, Miss Congeniality and Miss Talented.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Miss+Kerala+contest&artid=w/mX1M3GT78=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=X7s7i%7CxOZ5Y=&SEO=

Work of Cruise Terminal to be delayed

KOCHI: The construction of the proposed International Cruise Terminal-cum- Public Plaza at the Cochin Port is likely to be delayed further due to the global economic slowdown.

The port management is apprehensive whether there would be potential parties to undertake the work even if global tender is invited. The scheduled date of commissioning the terminal is October 2011.

“There is chance for a slight delay.

Before inviting the global tender, we have to obtain a few clearances from the Central Government. It’s true that the port management has apprehensions whether there would be capable parties to undertake the work. Since the terminal is designed with world-class facilities, only a major organisation can undertake the work. We are hopeful that there will not be much delay,’’ said Port Trust chairman N Ramachandran.

The feasibility report and business plan for the project were finalised in March 2008 and transaction advisor was appointed in June 2008.

Located at the north end of Willingdon Island, the Rs 375 crore terminal will have an exclusive berth of quay length 220 metres and an available draft of 10 m.

A Kerala Village, shopping mallcum- office tower and luxury hotel
will be the added features of the terminal in addition to a world-class vessel reception facility. The passenger capacity is 3,50,000 per annum.

The representative of the foreign cruising company that expressed interest to make Kochi as their turn around port visited the port last month.

“Discussion with the company is on. If everything goes smooth, they are expected to start operations in October this year,’’ Ramachandran said.

The cruise business at the Cochin port is playing a major role in attracting tourists to Kerala. Despite the global slowdown, 36 cruise vessels called at Kochi in the end of March 2009. After March another 11 vessels made their call at Kochi.

Link (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Work+of+Cruise+Terminal+to+be+delayed&artid=iM52v8Jz4Ew=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=)

It is a favourable Budget for Kochi. The city has gained the maximum fund allocations in the Union Budget 2009-10 presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee before Parliament on Monday. As per the Budget allocations, about Rs 500 crore will be spent in the city for different development projects. But it’s significant to note that the Budget has not mentioned any specific fund allocation for the much-discussed Kochi Metro Rail project.


An amount of Rs 180 crore has been allocated for Cochin Shipyard of which Rs 120 crore has been given as subsidy while Rs 60.21 has been earmarked for shipbuilding.

Rs 99.97 crore has been given to the Cochin Port Trust for dredging purposes. Rs 47 crore has been granted as a capital deposit for the development of Cochin Port. In addition to this, Rs 19.55 crore has been given for improving the health system at the Cochin Port.

The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT) has been allocated Rs 34 crore as plan investment fund. The Budget has allocated Rs 45 crore for establishing rail connectivity to the proposed Vallarpadom Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) project.

Rs 5.04 crore has been earmarked for the development of Cochin Special Economic Zone (SEZ). There are other national projects coming up in and around Kochi for which funds have been allocated in the Union Budget.

The Spices Board got Rs 56.28 crore while Rs 105 crore has been allocated for Rubber Board. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has been given Rs 95 crore in the Budget.:)

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Kochi+has+a+lot+to+cheer+about&artid=/Pt/5WsE6LQ=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&SEO=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=

It is good.

However, the funds for Spices Board & Rubber Board may not be for infrastructure development, as both these commodity boards do have good infrastructure facilities as of now.

The Rubber Board, having its HQ at Kottayam has a number of Regional Offices, spread across the country.
Also, the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) at Kottayam & its Research Sub Centres, gets the fund allocation through the Rubber Board.

Like in the case of Rubber, Spice Crops are also grown in the non-traditional areas. A major chunk of the funds shall be used for area expansion and reburfishing the existing spices plantations spread across the length & breadth of the country.

We have to wait to see how the cash flows.

New Railway Lines.A Hope for Kochi as well.

Angamali-Sabarimala Railway line has started building from Angamaly till Kalady ,waiting for tender and contract for bridge across Periyar River.
This line passes through Angamali-Perumbavoor-Kothamangalam-Muvattupuzha-Thodupuzha-Pala-Ponkunnam-Erumeli-Azhutha .Chances of a connection line from Thrippunithura or Ernakulam town station to Muvattupuzha-Kothamangalam-Thoudpuzha is likely after the Project finished.
Another thing is ,Angamali-sabari Line is extended to Punaloor to connect to Trivendrum.

Ernakulam-Madhura Line feasibility study?I think the Line will pass through Ernakulam-Muvattupuzha-Thodupuzha-Udumbannur-Nedumkandom-Theni-Madhura omitting Steep Hilly regions aka Munnar etc.

New Railway Lines.A Hope for Kochi as well.

Angamali-Sabarimala Railway line has started building from Angamaly till Kalady ,waiting for tender and contract for bridge across Periyar River.
This line passes through Angamali-Perumbavoor-Kothamangalam-Muvattupuzha-Thodupuzha-Pala-Ponkunnam-Erumeli-Azhutha .Chances of a connection line from Thrippunithura or Ernakulam town station to Muvattupuzha-Kothamangalam-Thoudpuzha is likely after the Project finished.
Another thing is ,Angamali-sabari Line is extended to Punaloor to connect to Trivendrum.

Ernakulam-Madhura Line feasibility study?I think the Line will pass through Ernakulam-Muvattupuzha-Thodupuzha-Udumbannur-Nedumkandom-Theni-Madhura omitting Steep Hilly regions aka Munnar etc.


Keralite !. Good when all these proposals materialise. But our so called 'People's Representatives have to exert very high pressure to get these projects commissioned at an earlier date.

Keralite, BTW what is the spelling for Trivandrum?

& folks can anyone plzz post pics of Mohanlal & Mamookas bungalow's @ Kochi.

@ AAJacob. The ‘Veedu’ bi-monthly magazine has recently featured the pictures of his waterfront bungalow at Thevera, Ernakulam. The picture and the highlights of the interview are posted here. I will try to get more pictures. Stay tuned….!!!

Mohanlal @ his bungalow in Thevera. He has set up a most sophisticated home theatre and security system in this house. He also maintains an art gallery adjacent to his house.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1866/homee.jpg (http://img156.imageshack.us/i/homee.jpg/)

House @ Ooty
http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/9474/part1c.jpg (http://img154.imageshack.us/i/part1c.jpg/)

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/3377/part2o.jpg (http://img44.imageshack.us/i/part2o.jpg/)

Highlights: The house he likes most is ‘Hill View’ at Trivandrum, which his father constructed when he was 3 yrs old. From this house, one can see Sea towards west and hills towards east. The very first house he owned was at Trivandrum in Kowdiar near Trivandrum Tennis Club. The house ‘Pranavam’ was bought at the peak of his stardom in early 90’s.

He has also business interests in Trivandrum which is evident through big investments like VismayaMax Studio & Animation Academy, joint venture with Pankajakasthuri for Santham Herbal Village, a luxury resort to provide authentic Ayurvedic treatment, and in the pipeline - ‘Travancore Court’ – chain of food joints which already has started in B’lore and Ernakulam. :cheers:

@ AAJacob. The ‘Veedu’ bi-monthly magazine has recently featured the pictures of his waterfront bungalow at Thevera, Ernakulam. The picture and the highlights of the interview are posted here. I will try to get more pictures. Stay tuned….!!!

Mohanlal @ his bungalow in Thevera. He has set up a most sophisticated home theatre and security system in this house. He also maintains an art gallery adjacent to his house.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1866/homee.jpg (http://img156.imageshack.us/i/homee.jpg/)

House @ Ooty
http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/9474/part1c.jpg (http://img154.imageshack.us/i/part1c.jpg/)

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/3377/part2o.jpg (http://img44.imageshack.us/i/part2o.jpg/)

Highlights: The house he likes most is ‘Hill View’ at Trivandrum, which his father constructed when he was 3 yrs old. From this house, one can see Sea towards west and hills towards east. The very first house he owned was at Trivandrum in Kowdiar near Trivandrum Tennis Club. The house ‘Pranavam’ was bought at the peak of his stardom in early 90’s.

He has also business interests in Trivandrum which is evident through big investments like VismayaMax Studio & Animation Academy, joint venture with Pankajakasthuri for Santham Herbal Village, a luxury resort to provide authentic Ayurvedic treatment, and in the pipeline - ‘Travancore Court’ – chain of food joints which already has started in B’lore and Ernakulam. :cheers:


Thanks Ram.................:)

Thanks Ram.................:)

He do have houses at Dubai.
Emirates Hills & Dubai Marina.

Kochi Metro Rail can be completed in 3 years: Official (http://www.ptinews.com/news/163517_Kochi-Metro-Rail-can-be-completed-in-3-years--Official)

Kochi, Jul 8 (PTI) The proposed Kochi Metro Rail Project could be completed in three years time once the Centre gives its sanction, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Chairman E Sridharan said today.

The preliminary work in connection with the project, including land survey and station drawing, are on, he told reporters here.

When pointed out that no fund had been earmarked for the Kochi metro rail project in the central budget, he said that would not be a problem.

DMRC is the implementing agency for the project, which was proposed to be taken up as a Centre-state joint venture. It has been delayed for the last three years due to various reasons.

The elevated metro rail, expected to ease the traffic congestion in the city, is to be constructed on the model of Delhi Metro.

Good Evening Gents,

Is there anyway to find the total population of cochin city earning more than 5 lac/annum, any guesstimate ?

Thanks in Advance and Great contribution from you all, I have extensively gone through the whole thread!

Cheers

Adux

PS: Who is doing the Cochin Marina Project?

Forest Department slaps case on KCA
Kochi | Friday, Jul 10 2009 IST



The Forest Department today booked case against the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) for clearing mangrove forest for the construction of an international cricket stadium at Edakochi, near here.

Speaking to UNI, Malayatoor DFO Krishnadeo Prasad Sahu said '' we got information that the mangrove forest was being cleared for the construction of the stadium and on reaching the site, it was found that about eight hectare of mangrove forest had been cleared.'' As per the 'Kerala Promotion of Tree Growth Act', clearing of mangrove forest was prohibited and case had been booked against KCA under various sections of the Act.
He said a detailed inquiry would be conducted into the incident.

http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20090710/1292799.html

^^When posting news items, you should give links.

Sudeesh, KMC

Is there anyway you can shed some light to my queries !


Cheers

Adu

Sudeesh, KMC

Is there anyway you can shed some light to my queries !


Cheers

Adu

Please try with the Income Tax Department.
Explore the possibilities of RTI Act.

Sorry, it won't help to get the details from tax evaders.

Same is the case with NRIs, for which you may have to contact the banks.
May be you can contact the Lead Bank of EKM District. There also RTI applies I think.

Visitor's Lounge opened in CIAL

Good move by CIAL to promote the Airport itself as a tourist destination. A lot of Airports in big cities host this facility and its a good opportunity for the plane-spotters and also for citizens with interest in Aircrafts and aviation :cheers:

http://i30.tinypic.com/2enrvoj.jpg

Entry Fee: 30 Rs( 50 Rs in International Terminal)

Thanks Jaleel, I am already on it.
Any of you guys have any info on the Cochin Marina Project, time frame and location?

Kerala's biggest golf course to get ready by December 09 . It would comeup on a 120 acre plot adjacent to the Cochin International Airport , Nedumbassery . Phase 1 of the project would be ready by Dec 09 and work on the second phase would start by Jan 2010 .The completion of the second phase would make this the only 18 hole golf course in Kerala.

Another attraction of the project is that a butterfly park is also being built on a 14 acre area next to the golf course.:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentType=EDITORIAL&programId=1073753761&articleType=Malayalam%20News&contentId=5700870&BV_ID=@@@

CIAL flies high!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EVERY VOTE COUNTS

Please vote for a new moderator - the contest is hotting up

Voting closes July 16, 2009.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=909566

Geojit BNP Paribas Q1 net up



Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services announced its first quarter results for fiscal year 2009-10 at the meeting of its directors at Kochi. The consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2009-10 was higher by 62 per cent at Rs. 76.69 crore against Rs. 47.35 crore for the same quarter of the previous fiscal. The net profit has risen by 86 per cent to Rs. 13.25 crore from Rs. 7.1 crore. The profit before tax rose by 105 per cent to Rs. 21.17 crore from Rs. 10.34 crore. The company has also provided Rs. 7.41 crore for taxes for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2009-10.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/12/stories/2009071256011100.htm

Kochi is undisputedly the financial hub of Kerala with the regional head offices of most of the private and public sector banks and branches of foreign banks like CITI Bank / ANZ Grindlays Bank apart from the Forex division of the Reserve bank of India.

Kochi also holds the credit of having the corporate offices of leading Stock broking Firms like Geojit- BNP Paribas , JRG Securities , Hedge Equities , Muthoot Securities , Select securities - Doha bank etc :banana::banana:

Kochi also has the credit of having the only Stock Exchange in Kerala - Cochin Stock Exchange

Petronet - LNG to build a 700MW power project @ Puthuvypeen , Kochi. The project is estimated to cost over Rs. 2000 crores .:banana::banana::banana:

http://mathrubhumi.com/php/newFrm.php?news_id=1239412&n_type=HO&category_id=7&Farc=&previous=Y

Geojit BNP Paribas Q1 net up


Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services announced its first quarter results for fiscal year 2009-10 at the meeting of its directors at Kochi. The consolidated revenue for the first quarter of 2009-10 was higher by 62 per cent at Rs. 76.69 crore against Rs. 47.35 crore for the same quarter of the previous fiscal. The net profit has risen by 86 per cent to Rs. 13.25 crore from Rs. 7.1 crore. The profit before tax rose by 105 per cent to Rs. 21.17 crore from Rs. 10.34 crore. The company has also provided Rs. 7.41 crore for taxes for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2009-10.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/12/stories/2009071256011100.htm

Kochi is undisputedly the financial hub of Kerala with the regional head offices of most of the private and public sector banks and branches of foreign banks like CITI Bank / ANZ Grindlays Bank apart from the Forex division of the Reserve bank of India.

Kochi also holds the credit of having the corporate offices of leading Stock broking Firms like Geojit- BNP Paribas , JRG Securities , Hedge Equities , Muthoot Securities , Select securities - Doha bank etc :banana::banana:

Kochi also has the credit of having the only Stock Exchange in Kerala - Cochin Stock Exchange

Geojit shall be having a JV in Saudi very soon.
Action in final stages.

Traffic solutions from abroad

KOCHI: The number of vehicles in Kochi has increased from 91,411 in 1989-90 to 9,38,124 in 2007-08, showing an average yearly growth of 13 percent. With cabs and vans adding to the vehicle fleet every year, there is overcrowding on the roads. There is a matching rise in the sale of scooters and motorbikes as well.

According to the records of the Motor Vehicles Department, about 2000 vehicles are registered in the city limits in a month, 85 percent of which are private vehicles. There are about 630 city buses, 3000 autorickshaws, 6500 taxis and countless cars and motorcycles on crammed city roads according to a study by the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR).

“There is no need to worry. Mobility hubs could be the solution to ease traffic, for a sustainable transportation concept in your city,” said Susan Zielinski, managing director, Sustainable Mobility & Accessibility Research & Transportation (SMART), Centre for Advancing Research & Solutions for Society, University of Michigan.

“You need to back such plans which will take the load off the public road system. Such plans should get the boost from the common traveller who feels frustrated every time he ends in a traffic jam,” added Gordan Feller, chief executive officer, Urban Age Institute, USA.

Both experts were in the city to participate in a discussion on an invitation from the CPPR to interact with the officials on the SMART concept which could be introduced in the city.

“The fact that the city is thinking of a physical facility as a solution to handle the traffic is a vital step,” said Gordon. Susan, who was a city councillor in Toronto, later on advocated the cause of sustainable transport.

‘The investment for such development comes from public-private ventures.

The idea is to increase connectivity, get the people to use the public transport system and help public and private business growth,’ she said.

Gordon feels that entrepreneurs around the world have to realise that the social infrastructure is up for sale.

“The more comfortable and peopleoriented you make it, the more markets you retain. So now, Smart Companies are competing with each other to offer high quality living to people.” The scenario is same in all cities across the world where the authorities are afraid of change. “We actually did a cycle choir campaign on the streets to put across the message that we need cycle lanes,” says Susan. The cops and the authorities couldn’t prevent us because we did a very peaceful campaign.

“A year later, the city council cleared the project for the cycle lane.” Gordon believes that the culmination of small, individual decisions made by people give way to a huge decision, which has its impact on everyone.

The most crucial factor is that the policy makers who have always had leverage, now also have the understanding to realise that it is not the million dollar projects that foster change but the small allocations. The little prods and pushes that add value to a project take it beyond change into the sphere of transformation.

Susan concluded by saying that in 2005, SMART began work with Ford Motor Company and a range of other business, government, and NGO partners to address sustainable transportation issues and opportunities in the developing world. Over time many more partners have joined the effort.

More recently, similar work began in Washington DC, Atlanta, Ann Arbor, Detroit and Los Angeles.

Are the existing transportation services at the location underused? Could they benefit from marketing and branding with a hub and from the new transportation services?? Is the location under-serviced? Does the existing transit service already operate at capacity? Would attracting more riders pose a problem for the transit provider? Would developing a hub at this location encourage people to not take out their cars, or would it just be transferring trips from one mode to another? were some of the questions that the two experts felt needed to be addressed when planning a mobility hub.

“Solutions have to be localised,” they said. “There is no point in looking at other cities, because your city is yours alone!!”

Link (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Traffic+solutions+from+abroad&artid=F|nrnK0Hgik=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=)

Hi Friends,

Am new to this forum and i hope i can get your support. Am a frequent visitor tothis forum and the effort u guys are taking is much appreciated. Will post the photos once it is available.

Thanks,

Suresh

Kochi started selling teas through the e-auction route on Tuesday, thus marking the commencement of electronic auction of teas at all the major auction centres in South India.

This was confirmed by the Tea Board Executive Director R. D. Nazeem who told The Hindu that with the introduction of e-auction in Kochi, all the three tea auction centres in South India — Conoor, Coimbatore and now Kochi — would enter the cyberspace for selling teas.

T. Rangaiaiah, President, Small Tea Growers’ Association, said: “With the Tea Board implementing the e-auction in South India, after eight years of prolonged crisis in the industry, now small growers are getting remunerative prices and the e-auction would go a long way in ensuring this”.

Ullas Menon, Secretary General of the United Planters’ Association of Southern India (UPASI) felt that all the producers could hope to get better prices due to the increase in the number of buyers, thanks to the e-auction.

Mr. Nazeem said that while e-auction had been going on at Conoor and Coimbatore since May and had contributed to a 40 per cent increase in prices, in Kochi it ran into trouble following an interim stay by the High Court on the basis of a stay sought by the buyers’ association. This stay was vacated last week making possible the e-auction, Mr. Nazeem said.

He said compared to last year, the average sale prices of teas had increased from Rs. 56 to Rs. 80 [a kg] in Conoor and Coimbatore, marking a 40 per cent increase which could be partially attributed to the electronic auction.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/15/stories/2009071553511300.htm

A three-day India International Food and Agri Expo will be held in Kochi from November 19 to give a boost to the sector.

The exhibition-cum-workshop will focus on technical upgradation of agricultural production, post harvest handling and processing, quality assurance and market linkages, Organising Committee Chairman P.C. Cyriac told reporters here.

The trade fair will also act as a platform for producers, suppliers, traders and services providers from India and abroad.

Last year, the event had attracted a large number of exhibitors and visitors from different parts of the globe.

This year's event is likely to lure more visitors from India and abroad, Mr. Cyriac said.

Exhibitors will include farmers, farmer institutions, food processors and traders, service providers, retail chain stores and super markets and farm and agri tourism entrepreneurs.

The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) Kerala, Foundation for Organic Agriculture and Rural Development and Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development are jointly organising the event.:)

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200907131852.htm

Traffic solutions from abroad

KOCHI: The number of vehicles in Kochi has increased from 91,411 in 1989-90 to 9,38,124 in 2007-08, showing an average yearly growth of 13 percent. With cabs and vans adding to the vehicle fleet every year, there is overcrowding on the roads. There is a matching rise in the sale of scooters and motorbikes as well.

transformation.

Link (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Traffic+solutions+from+abroad&artid=F|nrnK0Hgik=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=)

More than the population?

This figure is not for the Kochi city area, but for the entire Ernakulam district.

Bernhard Schulte - The biggest ship management company (700 plus ships) in the world to open it's office @ Kochi . Seems like the Commissioning of Vallarpadom Project would attract many more of such companies to kochi. :banana:

http://mathrubhumi.com/php/newFrm.php?news_id=1239742&n_type=NE&category_id=7&Farc=

More than the population?

This figure is not for the Kochi city area, but for the entire Ernakulam district.

No Jaleel,

It's not the total vehicle population of Ernakulam Dist. but the total number of vehicles registered under Kochi RTO .

No Jaleel,

It's not the total vehicle population of Ernakulam Dist. but the total number of vehicles registered under Kochi RTO .

I think before 2 years the whole vehicles in Ernakulam district are coming under Kochi RTO; Thats why they got registered in KL-07. Correct me if am wrong.

It would be for the whole District.

As on 31/03/2007, the total number of registered vehicles in Ernakulam dist is 669509.

http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/trans_main.htm.

So as said in the report, if the growth is 13%, then it would be around 8-9 lakhs, for the whole district.

More than the population?

This figure is not for the Kochi city area, but for the entire Ernakulam district.

State government has allocated 400 acres for the project to the Fisheries Department

Project is expected to be a big booster to the tourism potential of the State


http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/16/stories/2009071658750300.htm

KL-17 for muvattupuzha came around five years ago. The rest of the joint RTOS got numbers three years ago.

You can't co-relate the RTO biundaries to the vehicles in the city. A lot of KL-07s belong to the east side which don't come to the city, while a lot of KL-39, Thripunithura, primarily ply in the city.

Sobha Developers Ltd, the Bangalore-based real estate developer is looking to raise about Rs 1,200-1,400 crore by selling part of its land parcels in a bid to reduce its outstanding debt.

The plots identified are 100 acres in Pune, 38 acres in Bangalore and around 300 acres in Kochi and adjoining villages.

A source had earlier told DNA Sobha is looking to spin off businesses such as interiors and wooden furniture, building materials, mattresses and a design .

Link (http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_sobha-to-raise-rs-1400-cr-by-selling-land-parcels_1274672) for full news.

The land at kochi might be the one earmarked earlier for Sobha Hi-tech City project.

Revenue department asked to complete survey for project

KOCHI: The Delhi Metro-Rail Corporation has insisted that people who intend to construct buildings anywhere within 50 metres of the proposed alignment for the Kochi metro rail project, obtain a no-objection certificate from it.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/19/stories/2009071959830300.htm

Housing board to Kick start its 1500 crore commercial venture at Marine Drive on 17 Acres

they aloso have 250 crore projects at Trivandruma and calicut.
Courtesy : PLUS Kochinow

Kochi (PTI): The Kerala State Housing Board (KSHB) plans to team up with various agencies to develop three township projects totally worth Rs 2,000 crore in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode on a Public-Private Partnership, Housing Commissioner Noyal Thomas said.

The projects are to come up in 17.6 acres in Marine Drive in Kochi, worth about Rs 1500 crore; Akkulum in the state capital in 14.5 acres and in 12.5 acres in Kozhikode medical college campus. The Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode projects are worth Rs 250 crore each, Thomas told reporters here.
The projects would be notified for selection of developers by this year, Thomas, who is also the Ex-officio secretary of KSHB, said.The projects are expected to take off by this year.

The Board was also in the process of shortlisting consultants for the same which would be finalised after an International competitive bidding process, he said.

The consultants will prepare a detailed project report, help identifying suitable experienced developers and market the buildings once the projects are completed, he said.

"We are also in discussions with various agencies,including Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and Kerala Infrastructure Development Authority (KINFRA), who can act as a consortium to participate in the bidding process."

Thomas said the Board was in talks with New Delhi based National Building Development Corporation (NBDC) as they are interested in the Kochi project.

There are also plans to team up with private builders to develop housing projects.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200907191022.htm

Some of the Highlights of the article

Gold Souk Grandé, a large format mall spread across 500,000 sft, would soon come up at Kochi. The souk, located at Vytilla in Kochi, has anchors including Fun Republic (multiplex), Parthas, Spencer’s (hypermarket), Pantaloon, E Zone, and jewellers like Alapatt, Bhima and Malabar Gold. It is expected to be operational by next month.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/aerens-plans-big-for-kerala/364445/

Some of the Highlights of the article

Gold Souk Grandé, a large format mall spread across 500,000 sft, would soon come up at Kochi. The souk, located at Vytilla in Kochi, has anchors including Fun Republic (multiplex), Parthas, Spencer’s (hypermarket), Pantaloon, E Zone, and jewellers like Alapatt, Bhima and Malabar Gold. It is expected to be operational by next month.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/aerens-plans-big-for-kerala/364445/

Dear,

The mall is already completed and will be operational by this September. U can see it on the way from Vytilla to Edapally and it is just opposite to the 28 storied Jomer Symphony...

More on Kochi @ http://www.cochinsquare.com/

Dear,

The mall is already completed and will be operational by this September. U can see it on the way from Vytilla to Edapally and it is just opposite to the 28 storied Jomer Symphony...

Yes I agree but wanted to highlight the list of business establishments starting there operations there.

Hi guys,

Im new to this forum. Im amazed by the amount of info available on this thread about development projects in Kerala. All this while I was depending on various news sites on any info and this website came as a great revelation.
I must appreciate all the contributors for their great work.

Also can anyone shed light on the proposed overbridge projects in Ponurunni, Atlantis & Pachalam. The last I heard was the sanctioning of Central budget for the same. Is this really happening or will it just be on paper?!!

Jet to launch Kochi-Sharjah daily flight from Sep 1

Private carrier Jet Airways will launch daily services on the Kochi-Sharjah route from Sep 1, the airline said on Tuesday.

This will be Jet's fourth daily flight to the Gulf from Kochi, the airline said in a statement.

At present, Jet has daily services to Doha, Kuwait and Muscat from Kochi.

Earlier the company announced that it would launch daily flights on the Hyderabad-Dubai sector on Aug 16.

Jet currently flies to seven destinations in the Gulf - Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Jeddah - from several Indian cities.

The airline will also launch services to Riyadh, its second service to Saudi Arabia on August 6.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=18ce51ba-61c5-46e6-bb32-86249a00bac4&Headline=Jet+to+launch+Kochi-Sharjah+daily+flight+from+Sep+1

Petronet LNG seeks land for power project in Kochi


KOCHI: Petronet LNG Ltd is considering setting up a 750 mw power project at the site of its proposed Rs 2500 crore Kochi re-gassification terminal
which is expected to go operational in 2011.

Petronet LNG board which met here decided to carry out a pre-feasibility study of the proposed power plant. Cochin Port Trust (CPT) and Kerala Government would take a decision to allot land for the purpose, in a month.

CPT chairman N Ramachandran said the port had allotted 32 hectares in Puthuvype for the terminal and another 22 hectares for marine constructions. The request for need for additional land will be placed before next CPT board for sanction, he said.

Mr P Dasgupta, MD and CEO of Petronet LNG who was here for the board meeting said that he expected the Kochi power project would come up faster than Dahej power plant as the company is yet to receive the Gujarat Maritime Board’s approval for additional jetty without which the supplies to the proposed power plant cannot be met.

The power project is proposed to be set up using energy released during the re-gassification of imported LNG. The power is expected to be cheaper than that produced through other several other methods. The total investment for the power project will be decided after the pre-feasibility study.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Energy/Power/Petronet-LNG-seeks-land-for-power-project-in-Kochi/articleshow/4799629.cms

Prior permission should be taken from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for carrying out construction activities within 50 metres on both sides of the proposed Kochi Metro Rail alignment.


The DMRC submitted its letter regarding this proposal before District Collector M Beena during the weekly review meeting held at the Collector’s camp office on Monday.

The weekly meeting is organised as part of reviewing the progress of the Metro Rail project according to permissions obtained from the Union and state governments.

The survey for the project in seven villages is in the final stage, other than in Ernakulam village.

The survey in Ernakulam village is being handled by Meridien survey team from Chennai. The survey would be completed within a month, said the District Collector.

The survey for the project is being carried out at Aluva West, Thrikkakkara North, Edappally South, North, Poonithura, Elamkulam and Ernakulam villages.

Out of this, the survey in Edappally North has been completed.

Though the survey is complete in Edappally South, the documents are to be prepared.

Survey in other villages is in the final phase.

The meeting observed that the absence of a chainman at Vyttila Special Tahasildar Office has been affecting the survey activities.

In the wake of this, the Collector has directed the officials to issue a letter to the survey superintendent asking him to appoint a chainman immediately.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Review+meet+decides+to+expedite+survey+works&artid=BIIAyRUaspA=&SectionID=1ZkF/jmWuSA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=X7s7i%7CxOZ5Y=&SEO=

Habitat centre on expansion mode

The state Information Technology Department will start the second phase expansion work of India’s first exclusive ITES Habitat Centre in Kochi. A training and facilitation centre for IT and ITeS industry, the centre with approximately 15,000 sq ft inbuilt space at Kaloor International Stadium Complex will have an additional 10,000 sq ft space after expansion.


At present there are 25 small-scale IT and ITeS companies, including a firm from Holland, functioning at the centre.

After completing the second phase as many as 30 companies can be accommodated with full-fledged facilities.

Information Technology Secretary Ajay Kumar told ‘expresso’ that the IT Department had received good response from companies for setting up their shop at the ITeS centre. “We could not accommodate all since we had already allotted space to various companies. To accommodate more companies we have decided to conduct the second phase development work of the centre. The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) has already allotted space for the purpose The habitat centre provides opening for small-scale IT companies and when their operation became large-scale they have to shift to IT parks like Infopark and Technopark.

The second phase development work will be completed within six months. The plan and design work have been completed by Habitat Technology Group. Tenders worth Rs 166 lakh will be invited this week for the civil and electrical work.

The centre provides facilities like electricity, 24-hour power backup, fully airconditioned rooms, front office facility for each company, conference hall, security staff, canteen and house keeping facility for companies on par with industry standards free of cost.

“When a company starts its operation, it needs to pay only Rs 35 per sq ft a month as licence fee and there will not be any rental charges,” said IT Mission district coordinator M C Sunil.

ITES Habitat Centre conducts various training programmes for students in spoken English, Business English Certification (BEC), and call centre training to enhance communication skills required for IT and ITES industry. The centre recently conducted a training programme for students from South Korea.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Habitat+centre+on+expansion+mo&artid=0K%7CN9u7YDpo=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&SEO=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=

The passenger train service to Kochi turned 107-year-old today.

The first train belonging to Cochin State Rail Servicing had arrived at the erstwhile state of Cochin on July 16, 1902.

According to railway records, the ruler of erstwhile Kochi state had to sell most of his valuables, including about 60 kg of gold, and even parted with 14 gold elephant caparisons belonging to the family shrine of Lord Poornathreseya at nearby Tripunithura to fund the project.

The introduction of Railways to Cochin was finalised in 1899 from Shoranur to Ernakulam, the cost of which was met entirely by the Cochin Maharajah. The construction of the line was started by the Madras Railway company before the end of the same year with line being opened for goods traffic on the June 2 and for passenger traffic on July 16, 1902.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/177886_Passenger-train-service-to-Kochi-turns-107-years

The Kochi Corporation will soon have a digital map of Kochi city at the click of a mouse. The mapping will track each building in the city, nearly 1.5 million people, every road, tree and even garbage bin.


With the Kochi Corporation finally initiating steps for the prestigious Geographic Information System (GIS)-enabled mapping project, the new civic administration tracking system will soon be a reality.

GIS mapping is a project that falls under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and is undertaken by the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Plan (KSUDP). GIS integrates hardware, software and data or capturing, managing, analysing and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.

“The project is funded by ADB and the authorities have already inked a pact with Mumbai-based 3i-Infotech agency. The agency has completed door-to-door surveys in some of the wards. We hope to complete the survey within six months,” said KSUDP deputy director Krishnarajan.

The survey is based on a questionnaire with 48 questions in consideration with various parameters. The survey will help the civic administration to identify people staying in each house and their whereabouts.

The geographical survey will cover various aspects including property, land details, drainage system, street lamps, roads and other details.

The second phase is the preparation of the base map, which will provide the geographic details. The map will be in the form of a 3D image, and it will be superimposed with survey details. “All the details and map will be uploaded in a separate portal.

This is the whole concept behind the project,” Krishnarajan added.

He said that the GIS maps would help the authorities to track property tax defaulters, vital installations and water and drainage leakages.

Similar project will be implemented in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Thissur and Kozhikode Corporations.:banana:

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Mapping+Kochi,+digitally&artid=22/sdbI1DT0=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=

Come November and people in Kochi can take pride in their city having the longest railway bridge in the country, cutting across an island over the Vembanad lake.

The 4.62 km-long Vallarpadam bridge will beat the current record for the longest rail bridge held by the Nehru Setu Bridge near Dehri on river Sone in Bihar by more than a kilometre.

"It will be the longest bridge built in the shortest possible time of 18 months," G Kesava Chandran, Deputy General Manager, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL), which is executing the works, told PTI.

The basic idea behind building this huge elevated structure, being completely funded by the Centre, was to reduce land acquisition at nearby Vaduthala, which is a very thickly populated area, he said.

http://http://ptinews.com/news/180495_Longest-railway-bridge-in-Kochi

The bridge is part of the nearly nine km railway link being built for Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT).

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Real-Estate/True-Value-Homes-to-tap-Infra-business-to-expand-in-southern-cities/articleshow/4802732.cms

KOCHI: The State government will consider on Wednesday the proposed city mobility project with Vytilla as the hub.

The project aims to solve a good share of commuting problems in the city by creating an integrated bus terminal, parking bays for private vehicles and autos, and other amenities on 25 acres of land owned by the Agriculture Department and Kerafed at Vytilla Junction. Traffic congestion in the western parts of the city will be considerably reduced once a full-fledged terminal is established for the KSRTC and inter-district private buses at the junction. By basing operations in Vytilla, the KSRTC and private buses would be able to save huge amounts on fuel and wear and tear, apart from the time saved in not entering the city.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/22/stories/2009072259480300.htm

Project envisaged to be built on 25 acres
of land belonging to Kerafed
Easy access to bus, metro, railways and waterways at Vytilla

KOCHI: A meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary Neela Gangadharan on Wednesday entrusted a three-member team comprising the Local Self-government Principal Secretary, the Agriculture Principal Secretary and the Ernakulam District Collector to submit within two weeks a detailed report on the implementation of the proposed Vytilla-centric city mobility project.

Refer
http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/23/stories/2009072359310300.htm
for more details

KOCHI: Cochin Port Trust, with firmed up plans for setting up a bunkering terminal and having completed a feasibility study on the project, has now published the Request For Qualification (RFQ) for construction of a multi-user liquid terminal on Puthuvype Island for meeting the infrastructure requirements of the proposed bunkering terminal.

For detailed report refer
http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/23/stories/2009072351400300.htm

Appollo Tyres plans investment to the tune of Rs. 1000 crores plus in Kerala .The manufacturing unit @ kalamassery would be shifted to the Rubber Park @ Irapuram in Kochi . IT Parks , Star Hotel ,Hospital & Mall planned @ kalamassey .:banana::banana:

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentType=EDITORIAL&programId=1073753761&articleType=Malayalam%20News&contentId=5748156&BV_ID=@@@

CUSAT still a prospective IIT candidate.:)

Seven other institutes including the Bengal Engineering College; Howrah, Cochin University of Science and Technology; Kochi, Engineering and Technology Department of Jadavpur University and Zakir Hussain College of Engineering and Technology; Aligarh Muslim University apart from IT BHU are being considered for the IIT brigade.

http://www.livemint.com/2009/07/22195158/Cabinet-note-on-upgrade-of-IT.html

Ambalamedu to get highrises!!!!

Details of Housing Project at AMBALMEDU, KOCHI

NBCC Valley View Appartments is a Housing Complex consisting of about 300 well designed 2 & 3 Bed Rooms Apartments in Multi-storeyed Towers.
NBCC Valley View Apartments will have modern facilities of Automatic lifts, provision of cable TV, provision of Telephone connections and centeralized security through Intercom.
NBCC Valley View Towers is planned on about 3.18 acres of land with plenty of open green spaces, walkways, ample parking. The club house and community facilities are proposed to be provided within the complex for use of residents.
A convenient shopping complex is proposed to be located at the enterance of the complex.
NBCC Valley View Apartments shall be handed over in stipulated time. The construction shall be managed and supervised on full time basis by qualified and experienced Engineers of NBCC.

http://nbccindia.gov.in/nbccindia/public/jsp_pub/kochi_scheme.jsp

The company will invest nearly Rs.1,000 crore in the proposed IT park at Kalamassery.’

KOCHI: Onkar S. Kanwar, chairman of Apollo Tyres Ltd., has allayed fears of large-scale retrenchment when the company finalises a plan to relocate Premier Tyres Ltd. from Kalamassery to the Rubber Park at Irapuram, near Perumbavoor here, and double production.

For more details refer to
Source
http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/24/stories/2009072454900700.htm

Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), the first green field airport, is in the final stage of development of the first phase of its Golf and Country Club project. The nine-hole golf course, the first phase of the 18- hole course, will be commissioned by the end of this year.

The golf course will be a major attraction for tourists and golf enthusiasts.

It’s just 30 minutes drive from Kochi. It’s expected that the golf course will be an international tourist destination attracting golfers from across the globe.

The 18-hole golf course spreading over 130 acres of undulating ground and water bodies is designed to give an enjoyable and challenging golfing experience to beginners, regulars and champions at affordable price.

``The eco-friendly golf course will feature well designed green and fairways, embracing white sand bunkers, dramatic water hazards and natural foliage,” said C G Krishnan Nair, managing director, CIAL. Bermuda tifdwarf on the green and Bermuda tifway-419 on the tees along with well-manicured fairways will provide a playing surface of high standard, Nair added.

The clubhouse will offer a host of amenities to golfers and non-golfers.

There will be a restaurant and bar, card rooms, conference-cum-party halls, pro shops, bowling green and hall of fame. The work of swimming pool, indoor games and health club is expected to begin in 2013.

CIAL is now offering an early bird membership scheme for the first 200 members. Applications for the same are invited from individuals and corporates.

The membership fee for individuals is Rs 2,00,000 plus tax and for corporates Rs 6,00,000 plus tax.

The total number of members is restricted to 900.

CIAL has placed a brochure along with application forms for both individuals and corporates in the ‘CIAL News’ column on their official website www.cochin-airport.in. Those interested can download the application form and hand it over to CIAL’s Commercial Department with a DD of Rs 10,000, said commercial manager Joseph Peter. For more details, contact the Commercial Department on phone 0091- 484- 3126265 or email: cgcc@cochin-airport.in.



http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Golf+course+takes+shape&artid=16OyEYJqwwM=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=&SEO=

The Cochin Port Trust has started tender proceedings for the proposed bunkering terminal at Puthuvype.


As a prelude to it, the port management has published the RFQ (Request for Qualification) document for construction of the terminal. August 27 is the deadline to submit the tenders.

The Rs 184.22-crore project will be carried out on Design-Build- Finance-Operate and Transfer (DBFOT)-basis for a concession period of 30 years.

After construction, separate global tenders will be invited for operation of the bunkering terminal by competent parties. The terminal will also be used for import of LPG to be handled at the LPG terminal of Indian Oil Corporation(IOC) Limited, which is coming up at the Puthuvype area.

Bunkering (fuelling) of ships is expensive in India owing to high taxes which makes fuel prices very high compared to international levels. Consequently, ships calling at Indian ports do not buy fuel from here.

However, the state government has approved a special rate of only half percent VAT for sale of bunkers from Kochi terminal.

“Sale of bunkers to foreign-going ships is treated as exports. With the state granting tax relaxation, the Kochi terminal will be one where prices will be comparable to international levels,” port authorities said.

Strategically located very close to international routes, Kochi is considered to be an ideal location for bunkering activities.

Kochi also has the advantage of having the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal and LNG Regasification Terminal at Puthuvype.

Apart from the ships that call at Cochin Port, those moving on international routes can also be supplied bunkers by special bunkering barges.

Further, new opportunities for supply of fresh water, vegetables, fish and other food materials and spare-parts for minor repairs will be other promising avenues.

Cochin Port has carried out a feasibility study for the bunkering terminal with the help of Indian Ports Association (IPA) technical wing.

The port has appointed Feedback Ventures as the transaction advisor for the project.


http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Port+Trust+invites+tenders+for&artid=zeWoKV8cdGg=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&SEO=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas= (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Port+Trust+invites+tenders+for&artid=zeWoKV8cdGg=&SectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&MainSectionID=9R67TMeNb/w=&SEO=&SectionName=gUhH3Holuas=)

Kerala Govts Focus Kerala meet turned to Focus Kochi Meet!!!!
surprising to see almost everything planned is in Kochi
I thought somebody would have posted this....

Out of 2730 Crore projects , Kochi attracted 2041 Crore

Projects lined up in Focus Kerala Meet
1.450 MW Power plant at Puthuvypeen - 1200 Crore
2.Free Trade Warehousing Zone at Aluva - 100 acre project - 400 crore
3. Container Freight Station at Mulavukad - 30 Crore
4.Warehouse at Kalamassery - 13 Crore
5.Tourism Project at Kakkanad - 30 acre - 180 Crore
6.Convention Centre at Maradu - 101 Crore
7.Multiplex at Maradu - 83.5 Crore
8. Vidya Bharathi Management Institute at Kalamassery - 4 Crore'
9.Industrial Park at Eloor - 30Crore

http://www.mathrubhumi.com/php/newFrm.php?news_id=1241657&n_type=HO&category_id=7&Farc=&previous=Y

Kochi LNG Terminal Project has already bought investments to the tune of Rs. 14500 crores in Kerala .But it's not yet over guys.


A ultra mega project is in the pipeline .Silica Wafer project is estimated to bring in investments worth Rs. 100,000 Crores and provide direct job opportunities for around one lakh people of highly skilled category. :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

http://mathrubhumi.com/php/newFrm.php?news_id=1241900&n_type=NE&category_id=7&Farc=

Kerala Govts Focus Kerala meet turned to Focus Kochi Meet!!!!
surprising to see almost everything planned is in Kochi
I thought somebody would have posted this....

Out of 2730 Crore projects , Kochi attracted 2041 Crore

Projects lined up in Focus Kerala Meet
1.450 MW Power plant at Puthuvypeen - 1200 Crore
2.Free Trade Warehousing Zone at Aluva - 100 acre project - 400 crore
3. Container Freight Station at Mulavukad - 30 Crore
4.Warehouse at Kalamassery - 13 Crore
5.Tourism Project at Kakkanad - 30 acre - 180 Crore
6.Convention Centre at Maradu - 101 Crore
7.Multiplex at Maradu - 83.5 Crore
8. Vidya Bharathi Management Institute at Kalamassery - 4 Crore'
9.Industrial Park at Eloor - 30Crore



Kochi is truly flooding with investments.:)

The LNG re-gasification project at Puthuvypeen, near here, involving an investment of Rs.3,750 crore, to be commissioned in 2011, will have high-investment allied projects like power generation and silicon wafer manufacturing. Petronet LNG Limited, which is setting up the re-gasification project, is planning to establish a 1500 MW power plant at a cost of Rs.3,250 crore there.


A plant for production of silicon wafers, a key component in the computer manufacturing industry, could also be started there, company managing director P. Dasgupta told reporters here on Saturday. The company is also investing Rs.2,500 crore in two LNG vessels. The total investments in LNG re-gasification and allied projects is estimated at Rs.14,500 crore. This includes the City Gas project in which Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) will lay pipelines to link Kochi with Mangalore, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Erode and Salem.
Mr. Dasgupta said the company will sign an agreement with Exxon Mobil Australia on August 9 for supply of 1.5 million tonnes of LNG per year, for a period of 20 years. The LNG project will benefit FACT and NTPC Kayamkulam, he said.
The company would need 40 hectares of land adjoining the re-gasification unit for setting up the power plant. The land with the Kochi Port Trust and Kinfra would have to be utilised for the purpose. The company had already discussed the matter with the entities concerned and the government, he said.
Some sections of the LNG unit, as envisaged under the original plan, would have to be relocated to the adjoining areas to accommodate the power plant, he noted.
The silicon wafer project would be of great significance to the State as it needs highly qualified hands.
Many international companies in the segment might come to Kochi, he said.
The investment could be to the tune of $15-20 billion and Petronet LNG Limited will be a joint venture partner, he said.
An indigenous technology will be utilised for the operation of the power plant and three million litres of distilled water could be produced from the project each day. The power produced will be relatively cheaper and it would be offered to the State, he said.


http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/26/stories/2009072657550100.htm

Kochi is truly flooding with investments.:)

Following projects also got cleared -
IT Park at Aluva - 130 acres-373 crore
Heritage Village at Kizhakkambalam - 25 acre - 95 crore
Another Convention centre and Multiplex at Maradu - 53 Crore

Investors just wants it in Kochi alone !!!!!!

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentType=EDITORIAL&programId=1073753761&articleType=Malayalam%20News&contentId=5759129&BV_ID=@@@

Kerala Govts Focus Kerala meet turned to Focus Kochi Meet!!!!

A small correction, the investor meet was conducted by the Kochi-based organisation, KCCI and not the Govt. of Kerala. Anyways, good to see such plans for investment for an investment-starved State.

A small correction, the investor meet was conducted by the Kochi-based organisation, KCCI and not the Govt. of Kerala. Anyways, good to see such plans for investment for an investment-starved State.

..... and throughout the promotion period, overseas publicity was given in respect of having projects at this part. Massive efforts were made by the organizers, by repeated visits to the gulf countries.

Infact I wanted to report about this Focus-K event.

A small correction, the investor meet was conducted by the Kochi-based organisation, KCCI and not the Govt. of Kerala. Anyways, good to see such plans for investment for an investment-starved State.

I found the website....
http://www.focuskerala.in/
"A commitment to place Kerala in the forefront of investment destinations.
FOCUS KERALA – WORLD INVESTORS MEET 2009 is a unique initiative of the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry to bring together investors from all over the world and showcase the opportunities for 'Responsible Investments in the State'.

The Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the nodal body of the Industrial and Business fraternity of the state has always been in the forefront in building a positive and conducive environment for business and industrial growth in the state for the last 6 decades."

^^Still what Ajay said is right, Kerala Chamber of Commerce is mainly association of business houses, specifically from Kochi region. It doesnot have any relation with Govt of Kerala.

Similarly, there is a Malabar Chamber of Commerce (There was Calicut Chamber of Commerce too, which later merged with Malabar Chamber) as well as Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce. I know that Mr. E M Najeeb (Air Travel Enterprises, KIMS Hospital etc) is the President and Mr. Raghuchandran Nair (SI properties, Kerala) is the Secretary of Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce.

In short these 'Chamber of Commerce's are nothing more than industry/trade associations, locally. The office bearers are elected from among the members. They would be affiliated nationally with industry associations like FICCI, CII etc.

Interestingly, the 'Management association' of Kochi area also have taken their name as 'Kerala Management Association'. The management associations of Trivandrum, Calicut, Trissur, etc are respectively called Trivandrum Management Association, Calicut Management Assocation, Trichur Management Association etc which are all affiliated to 'All India Management Association' (AIMA)

[QUOTE=KMC;40385010]I found the website....
http://www.focuskerala.in/
"A commitment to place Kerala in the forefront of investment destinations.
FOCUS KERALA – WORLD INVESTORS MEET 2009 is a unique initiative of the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry to bring together investors from all over the world and showcase the opportunities for 'Responsible Investments in the State'.


KMC,

Does this sound like new bottle and old wine? Few years back we had GIM . If I remember correctly , we received a pledge for nearly 10000 crore investment? How much of that really translated into jobs and GDP ?

What Kerala needs, Kochi in particular , is investment in infrastructure . I would have loved to see some investment brought to knock the two overbridges ( north and south ) down and build a better transport facility. In some countries, those two overbridges will be deemed unfit for road use purely on health and safety grounds . In the current edition of this B2B meet , heritage villages and convention centres seem to be the favorite among investors . At least now we have the pledge from the investors to look forward to translating into development.

Has anyone gauged the mood among investors this time round given the state of the economy?

Visitor's Lounge opened in CIAL

Good move by CIAL to promote the Airport itself as a tourist destination. A lot of Airports in big cities host this facility and its a good opportunity for the plane-spotters and also for citizens with interest in Aircrafts and aviation :cheers:


Entry Fee: 30 Rs( 50 Rs in International Terminal)


I don't understand the discrimination of 30Rs and 50Rs. Does this mean the visitors gallery in domestic terminal is second class ?

A small correction, the investor meet was conducted by the Kochi-based organisation, KCCI and not the Govt. of Kerala. Anyways, good to see such plans for investment for an investment-starved State.

similar one is going to conduct @ trivandrum on 28th and 29th of august 2009 @ Taj Residency by NRI Welfare Foundation

INVEST KERALA MEET, 2009 (http://investkeralameet.com/)

Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kollam, and Thrissur Municipal Corporations should be expanded by merging surrounding municipalities/panchayats with the Corporation. In addition to this, the municipalities of Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kannur, and Palakkad can upgrade as Municipal Corporations. By then Kerala will have 9 Municipal Corporations: Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kollam, Thrissur, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kannur, and Palakkad.

The expansion of the first three Municipal Corporation will help these cities to achieve the prestigious metropolitan status. For achieving Metro status, a city should have more than 1 million populations. Currently TVM have 900,000 and Kochi have 750,000. The expansion will also ensure these three cities to be included in Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) promoted by Central Government.

The areas like Kanayannur, Kakkanad, Thrikkakara, Kalamasseri, Tripunithura, Tiruvankulam, Maradu, Kumbalam, Kumbalangi, Kadamakudi, Vypin Islands, North Paravur, Elur, Varapuzha, etc should be include in Kochi.

Kudappanakunnu, Vattiyurkavu, Kazhakkuttam, Kovalam, Vizhinjam, etc can include in Thiruvananthapuram.

Karippur, Kondotty, Vallikunnu, Tenjipalam, Beypore, Feroke, Kadalundi, Kunnamangalam, Mavur, Kakkodi, Elathur, etc can include in Kozhikode Municipal Corporation.

In addition to this, Karippur taluk can be form by including Vazhavur, Chelambra , Cherukavu, Pulickal,Pallikkal, Karippur, Kondotty, Nediyirippu, Peruvallur, Tenjipalam, and Vallikunnu panchayats in Malappuram's Tirurangadi and Manjeri taluks. Karippur taluk can merge with Kozhikode district. This will ensure both Karippur Airport and Caicut University to be located in Kozhikode district. This will also reduce the size of Malappuram and also compensate Kozhikode for the exclusion of Vadakkara. The entire Karippur taluk can also merge with the expanded Kozhikode Corporation.

The following villages can merge with the proposed Greater Kochi Municipal Corporation:

- Present Kochi Municipal Corporation Area: Mattancheri, Fort Kochi, Wellington Island, Eda Kochi, Rameswaram, Thoppumpadi, Palluruthy, Ernakulam, Elamkulam, Edappally North, Edappally South, Poonithura, Vyttila

- Thrippunithura Municipality {Thrippunithura, Nadama Thekkumbhagom}

- Kalamassery Municipality

- Thrikkakkara-Kakkanad Urban Area (Thrikkakkara North, Thrikkakkara South, Kakkanad, Vazhakkala)

- Suburban Villages of Mulavukad, Kadamakkudy, Cheranelloor, Eloor, Varapuzha, Thiruvamkulam, Kanayannur, Chottanikkara, Udayamperur, Manakunnam, Mulamthuruthy, Maradu, Kumbalam, Chellanam, Kumbalangi


This expansion of the city will enable Kochi to achieve Metro status:

I think Choornikkara, Aluva, Chengamanad, Nedumbassery and Ankamaly can also be included under the purview of Greater Cochin Municipal Corporation. As a result the airport will be situated inside the corporation limit as well as the combined population will place Kochi in the league of major metros.

Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kollam, and Thrissur Municipal Corporations should be expanded by merging surrounding municipalities/panchayats with the Corporation.

^^ - I think this guy is spamming this idea. :ohno:

I think Choornikkara, Aluva, Chengamanad, Nedumbassery and Ankamaly can also be included under the purview of Greater Cochin Municipal Corporation. As a result the airport will be situated inside the corporation limit as well as the combined population will place Kochi in the league of major metros.

Good suggestion.

Infopark Kochi has doubled its exports for the year 2008-09, with the gross turnover increasing to Rs 463 core, registering a growth of 87 percent, according to reports from Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and SoftwareTechnology Parks of India (STPI).


The total turnover from the Infopark touched an all-time high of nearly Rs 600 crore with the inclusion of other ancillary units. Kerala is one of the few IT states that buckled the global trend and registered a phenomenal growth.

With more and more IT businesses moving to tier II towns this year due to economies of operation, the Kerala IT witnessed many international IT brands moving to Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi for their excellent infrastructure, 24x7 power and data connectivity.

Infopark Kochi attracted a record number of leading world class established companies namely, US Technologies, BlueLabs Technology Solution, UCI Technologies, Arbitron, Zerone Consulting, NHR Outsourcing, SIT Mobile and Alcatel Lucent and the Indian behemoth TataTele Services.

The other milestones include the launch of new Infoparks at Cherthala, Ambalapuzha and Koratty along with ramp up of co-developer projects including L&T, Leela Group and two IT giants, TCS and Wipro. Infopark Kochi was able to add 2,500 IT professionals, which took the employment in Infopark to 9,000 direct employees.

In addition to this, the financial results of 2008 saw a significant push from the SEZ units and a planned increase in capital investment of 600 percent.

Siddhartha Bhattacharya, CEO, Infopark, said that the Infopark aims at leveraging its current growth and driving a significant advantage to generate differentiated value for existing companies and investors.

The other most advantageous factor is the state’s infrastructure facilities and single window clearance, differentiated pricing power for the companies in SEZ, uninterrupted power and water supply.

Some of the HR challenges that the IT industry faces are in recruitment, training and development, performance management, compensation management and human resource management. In view of these, the Kerala IT has initiated several programmes such as tie-ups with reputed universities and colleges resulting in rapid career advancement opportunities for employees.

Special Post graduate Education Expansion Drive in IT (SPEED-IT), which offers strategy to attract good students into Masters and PhD programs in IT and IT-related disciplines by providing attractive scholarships by the government and industry.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Infopark+Kochi+export+records+87+pc+increase&artid=YmPldN4iWfM=&SectionID=XT7e3Zkr/lw=&MainSectionID=XT7e3Zkr/lw=&SectionName=HFdYSiSIflu29kcfsoAfeg==&SEO=

The unaudited financial results of Muthoot Capital Services Limited (MCSL) for the quarter ended June 30 has shown a substantial higher performance compared to the corresponding period last year.

The net profit increased from Rs 1.22 crore to Rs 1.67 crore, recording a growth of 36.87 percent. The company registered Profit Before Tax of Rs 2.52 crore compared to Rs 1.81 crore for the corresponding period last year.
The increase in Profit Before Tax is 39.26 percent, it said. The total income from operations for the company increased from Rs 3.58 crore in the quarter ended June 30, last year to Rs 5.08 crore in the corresponding period this year, registering a growt h of 41.88 percent, a release from the company said here.
However, the interest expenditure increased by 61.89 percent from Rs 1.09 crore to Rs 1.77 crore compared to the corresponding period last year. The company has plans to open branches in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The results were approved in the meeting of the Board of Directors held here on Tuesday, the release said. - PTI

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/17281920.htm

Software major Infosys was eyeing Tier-II cities like Tiruchirapalli and Madurai in Tamil Nadu for its expansion once the global
economy recovered from the current recession, a top company official has said.

The company had already established its units in tier-II cities like Mysore, Mangalore, Kochi, Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh, Infosys CEO and Managing Director S Gopalakrishnan said in a lecture at a meeting organised by the local unit of CII here last weekend.

He said he anticipated the global economic situation to improve by the end of this year and IT activities to emerge on top as before.

Infosys had not lost even a single customer during the global recession, but could have lost some revenue from certain companies, he said.

As of now, North American clients accounted for 62 per cent of its export revenues and European clientele 26 per cent, he said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/Software/Infosys-eyeing-Tier-II-cities-for-expansion/articleshow/4829201.cms

India’s longest railway bridge will be thrown open for traffic in Kochi later this year. The 4.62km-long bridge across the Vembanad Lake will link India’s first container transshipment terminal coming up on the Vallarpadam Island to the mainland.

With the commissioning of the new facility, the Nehru Setu Bridge over River Sone in Bihar will be pushed to the second position, followed by the Narnarayan Setu Bridge over the River Brahmaputra.

The bridge near Dehri on the Kolkata-Delhi line is 3.065km-long and has 93 spans of 30.5m each while the Narnarayan Setu bridge linking Jogighopa and Pancharatna in Assam has a total length of 2.3km.

“The new bridge also sets a record as the longest bridge built in the shortest possible time of 18 months,” said an official of the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), which is building the facility.

The bridge is part of the 9km, Rs2.97bn rail link to the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) which will be capable of receiving the largest cargo vessel afloat today. The ICCT will be commissioned simultaneously, tentatively on November 1.

The 133-span bridge has so far used up 15,000 tonnes of steel and 36,000 tonnes of cement. It has 133 pillars built on piles sunk to depths ranging between 45 to 55m to keep the bridge 7mn above the water level. Some 500 labourers and 50 engineers worked on the project everyday on average.

The ICCT, being built by India Gateway Terminals Limited, a subsidiary of the world’s largest port operator Dubai Ports World, is expected to handle 3mn twenty equivalent units (TEUs) of containerised cargo a year.

The two-phase project that costs Rs30bn will have the capacity to receive vessels up to 8,000 TEU in India, which currently depends on Singapore and Colombo ports for its transshipment needs.

Nearly 60% of the trade volumes generated out of the southern regions of the country are currently being transshipped onto mainline vessels calling at the foreign hub ports.

The promoters of the terminal expect Kochi to become a major trade hub thanks to its strategic location. The port city is easily accessible to the major trade routes because of the closeness to the international maritime line.

Launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005, it is the largest single operator container terminal currently planned in India and the first in the country to operate in a special economic zone.
The DP World, which has been granted a 38-year concession for the exclusive operation and management of the site, took over the existing Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal and started building the greenfield terminal four years back.

Once the terminal is completed India stands to benefit on the savings of transshipment costs in the freight, enjoy direct sailing and mother vessel facilities for the first time on the subcontinent and maintain competitive edge in the international market.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=305609&version=1&template_id=40&parent_id=22