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#1 ·
Post news, updates, photos & discuss InfoPark, Kochi.

Over view of InfoPark:


Website: InfoPark Kochi
 
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#3 ·
List of Completed buildings:

TEJOMAYA by L & T

Tejomaya the first Phase of L&T Tech Park is a 4 Lakh sq.ft state-of-the-art, eco-tech designed multi tenant IT Building(IT PARK), located at the heart of Infopark SEZ, Kochi.

The building is fully operational from March15, 2008. It is the first IT SEZ operational from Infopark and has 4 Lakh Sq.ft built up area with most modern ammenities & services.

As the name TEJOMAYA suggest, the building is resplendent with the effulgent energy pervading all over. Green-Tech in character, they are replete with energy efficient systems and state-of-the-art Technology: -

• Built over an area of 4 Acres of land within the Infopark SEZ Campus.
• Total built-up area of 4.00 Lakh Sq.ft.
• Floor Plate Area: 40,000 Sq.ft ,
• Floor to Ceiling Clear height : 3.675m

(C)Thunder Boltz
 
#8 ·
2500 crore rupees for second phase of Info Park: V.S

Kochi, Saturday, April 03, 2010: The Kerala State Chief Minister V.S Achuthanandan told today that, 2500 crore rupees would be allotted for developing schemes for the second phase of Info Park. He added that the schemes which provide jobs for 1,10,000 people would be developed.

Achuthanandan was addressing the press along with Smart City chairman S. Sharma, after his visit at Info Park, Kochi. He added that a global consultancy would be entrusted the duty for developing the employment schemes. Tenders would be called for this, and the development of the second phase of Info Park would be completed in the specified tenure, he added.

Minister told that, Tecom Company must take initiative steps to inform the State government regarding the Smart City Project. He added that Tecom company has the freedom to decide whether to go forward with the project or not. Tecom has not replied to the letter sent to them by the State government regarding the Smart City project. V.S told that the government would only decide to hand over the Project to other industrialists after the reply of Tecom Company.

Chief Minister had visited the Info Park on the background of Info Park development. He visited the construction site and held talks with the authorities of the Info Park. Info Park CEO Bhattacharya, Ernakulam District Collector K. M Beena were present along with Achuthanandan on his visit to Info Park.
 
#9 ·
Kochi Infopark phase-II to create 1.1 lakh jobs

KOCHI: The phase-II development of Infopark, Kochi, will create 1.1 lakh job opportunities, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said.


He told reporters on Saturday, during his visit to Infopark to assess the progress of various developmental activities, that the phase-II development would be carried out at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore.

The Chief Minister said that as part of the phase-II development, a global tender would be invited within three months.

"The District Collector will ensure that the arrangements for the infrastructure development are completed in a time-bound manner," the Chief Minister said.

Of the Rs 2,500 crore required for the development project, the State Government will provide Rs 475 crore as government support fund and internally generated fund within three years. Around 8 million square feet of built-in space will be constructed in 160 acres as part of the phase-II development.

"The acquisition for 53 acres of land for the development has been completed, and the remaining acquisition will be completed soon. The first phase of Infopark has so far achieved an export growth of 87 percent.

Work on `Athulya', the new IT complex at Inforpark, will be completed by May 2010," the Chief Minister said.

Fisheries Minister S Sarma, IT Principal Secretary Ajaya Kumar, District Collector M Beena and Infopark CEO Sidhartha Bhatacharya were present.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said the government would decide whether to continue working with Tecom or not only after receiving Tecom's confirmation to continue with the project.

Answering queries, the Chief Minister said a decision in this regard would be taken on the basis of Tecom's reply. "It was in front of us that the Tecom CEO told reporters that the company had just downsized its office at Vazhakkala and it had not vacated the office.

But, the very next day K Babu MLA submitted documents from the registration office at Thrikkakara in the Assembly disproving Tecom's claims," Fisheries Minister and Smart City chairman S Sarma said.
 
#16 ·
Sharjah's commerce body to open IT centre at Infopark

Technology innovation centre to be opened by early next month

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an organisation backed by the governing authority of the Emirate of Sharjah, will open a technology innovation centre at Infopark, Kochi. The centre could be opened by the end of this month or next month, according to official sources.

The centre is intended to expand the scope of IT operations of various companies based in Sharjah. It will be a mutually beneficial arrangement for Sharjah-based companies as well as IT companies in Kerala, according to Ajay Kumar, Principal Secretary, Information Technology Department, Kerala. He told The Hindu that the Kerala IT department will provide the facilities at the centre. The centre was proposed to be opened during the first week of April, but had to be postponed consequent upon the demise of a member of the Royal family of the emirate.

The significance of the opening of the centre lies in the fact that it could give way to a quantum jump in the volume of bilateral business. There are hundreds of companies in Sharjah which could provide orders for executing the IT enabled services to the Kerala based IT companies. The initiative could further strengthen the business transactions. Kerala could benefit from work orders for e-governance projects from many of the companies in the emirate and nearby areas, he said.

Sharjah is among the top group of emirates of the United Arab Emirates in terms of financial capacity and industrial expansion. The Hamriyah Free Zone Authority, an officially backed facility for setting up industrial units, has attracted over 400 Indian companies there during the past few years.

The Free Zone Authority is keen on expanding relationship with Kerala-based companies, its Director General Rashid Al Leem said.

“The signing of a memorandum of understanding for setting up an innovation centre between Kerala government and Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry underlines this fact,” Mr.Rashid, who was in Kochi on Wednesday, told The Hindu.

“Though economic slowdown had affected the emirate, it is fast recovering from the situation and new opportunities are emerging; but it is not possible to mention a specific point of time for total recovery”, he said.

The MOU for setting up the centre was signed by Siddhartha Bhattacharya, CEO of Infopark, and the representative of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and industry four months ago at Sharjah. Confirming the move to launch the project, Mr.Bhattacharya told The Hindu that the centre would help value addition leading to business development.

The Sharjah-based companies would come in close contact with the Kerala-based companies. This could be mutually beneficial, he said.
 
#20 ·
Kochi likely to become a top IT services hub

Infopark has 100-odd firms with 10,000 staff

Infopark exports in the last three years was around Rs. 1,000 crore

Lack of skilled professionals the main impediment to growth

KOCHI: Infopark Chief Executive Officer Siddhartha Bhattacharya has said that Kochi would emerge as one of the top Information Technology hotspots in the country in the next five to ten years.

Talking at a road show on animation, gaming, and visual effects organised by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) here on Friday, Mr. Bhattacharya said that infrastructure-wise Kochi had grown leaps and bounds over the years and now accounted for about five million sq.ft of built-up space in the IT sector with 100-odd companies employing about 10,000 employees.

Citing a recent report of NASSCOM, he said that both Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram featured in the list of challenger cities to capture the imagination of the IT sector in the next ten years.

Mr. Bhattacharya said that the total turnover of Infopark in terms of exports in the last three years was close to Rs. 1,000 crore.

Exports, the CEO said, were growing at a rate of 87 per cent.

Mr. Bhattacharya said that animation and gaming industry provided plenty of business and it was all about finding the right kind of talent. Earlier, in his inaugural address C.M. Dinesh Mani, MLA, said that with a smart IT Park like Infopark the State need not worry about the SmartCity Kochi project. Stating that companies were queuing up for space at the Infopark, he said that Infopark was far bigger than any SmartCity.

Mr. Mani said that Infopark should emerge as the champion of the State's IT sector and work in coordination with the State agencies.

The road show being organised in association with Kerala IT Mission and Image Infotainment Limited had a stopover at Kozhikode and Thrissur before coming to Kochi.

It would be held at Kottayam and Kollam in the next two days before concluding at Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

The show mainly targeted Plus Two students to create awareness about the career opportunities presented by the ever growing animation and gaming industry.

The Indian animation industry was set to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22 per cent and gaming industry at a CAGR of 49 per cent by 2012.

According to industry sources, shortage of skilled professionals was the biggest impediment to the growth of animation and gaming industry in the country.

Making a presentation on the growth prospects of the industry in India, K. Purushothaman, Regional Director of NASSCOM, said that the huge gap between what the industry wanted and what the aspiring candidates have to offer needs to be filled.

Better interaction between the industry and the existing training institutes was cited as one way of bridging the demand and supply gap of skilled professionals.

Namitha from the Mumbai office of the Academy Award winning studio Rhythm and Hues made a presentation on the various aspects of animation.

Students had an interaction session with her. Philip Thomas, Regional Head, Image Infotainment Limited, also made a presentation.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/24/stories/2010042462860300.htm
 
#6,009 ·
great

Infopark has 100-odd firms with 10,000 staff

Infopark exports in the last three years was around Rs. 1,000 crore

Lack of skilled professionals the main impediment to growth

KOCHI: Infopark Chief Executive Officer Siddhartha Bhattacharya has said that Kochi would emerge as one of the top Information Technology hotspots in the country in the next five to ten years.

Talking at a road show on animation, gaming, and visual effects organised by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) here on Friday, Mr. Bhattacharya said that infrastructure-wise Kochi had grown leaps and bounds over the years and now accounted for about five million sq.ft of built-up space in the IT sector with 100-odd companies employing about 10,000 employees.

Citing a recent report of NASSCOM, he said that both Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram featured in the list of challenger cities to capture the imagination of the IT sector in the next ten years.

Mr. Bhattacharya said that the total turnover of Infopark in terms of exports in the last three years was close to Rs. 1,000 crore.

Exports, the CEO said, were growing at a rate of 87 per cent.

Mr. Bhattacharya said that animation and gaming industry provided plenty of business and it was all about finding the right kind of talent. Earlier, in his inaugural address C.M. Dinesh Mani, MLA, said that with a smart IT Park like Infopark the State need not worry about the SmartCity Kochi project. Stating that companies were queuing up for space at the Infopark, he said that Infopark was far bigger than any SmartCity.

Mr. Mani said that Infopark should emerge as the champion of the State's IT sector and work in coordination with the State agencies.

The road show being organised in association with Kerala IT Mission and Image Infotainment Limited had a stopover at Kozhikode and Thrissur before coming to Kochi.

It would be held at Kottayam and Kollam in the next two days before concluding at Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

The show mainly targeted Plus Two students to create awareness about the career opportunities presented by the ever growing animation and gaming industry.

The Indian animation industry was set to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22 per cent and gaming industry at a CAGR of 49 per cent by 2012.

According to industry sources, shortage of skilled professionals was the biggest impediment to the growth of animation and gaming industry in the country.

Making a presentation on the growth prospects of the industry in India, K. Purushothaman, Regional Director of NASSCOM, said that the huge gap between what the industry wanted and what the aspiring candidates have to offer needs to be filled.

Better interaction between the industry and the existing training institutes was cited as one way of bridging the demand and supply gap of skilled professionals.

Namitha from the Mumbai office of the Academy Award winning studio Rhythm and Hues made a presentation on the various aspects of animation.

Students had an interaction session with her. Philip Thomas, Regional Head, Image Infotainment Limited, also made a presentation.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/24/stories/2010042462860300.htm
Thank you for sharing this
 
#21 ·
Kerala IT floats global RFPs to build Kochi Infopark-II

Kerala IT, a state government initiative, has floated request of proposals (RFPs) from renowned planners of IT parks to undertake master planning of the second phase of Infopark Kochi.

The Infopark phase-II would have a built up space of approximately eight million square feet and, when completed, would provide 80,000 new jobs.

"We are inviting RFPs from consultants of international repute to build Phase-II of Infopark as a facility at par with any facility globally. Like past projects, Infopark will act as a single point developer of basic infrastructure facilities. The work will commence after July 2010," said Infopark CEO Siddhartha Bhattacharya.

Infopark Kochi is already home to over 10,000 professionals working in world class companies like Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, ACS, US Technologies, IBS, Arbitron, Zerone Consulting, NHR Outsourcing, SIT Mobile and Alcatel Lucent.

According to Ajay Kumar, principal secretary, IT, Infopark Kochi Phase-II has generated a great deal of interest among a large cross-section of the IT industry.

"With the RFPs floated for phase-II expansion, we hope to see some good internationally reputable firms associating with us to establish a world-class campus in Kochi for global IT/ITES companies," said Kumar.

Kerala IT is a government initiative offering single-window clearance to IT companies, professionals, investors, developers and service providers.
 
#22 ·
Wipro may expand its Kochi base

Wipro may expand its Kochi base



M.P. Praveen



Company plans to find land for scaling up operations in the city



KOCHI: The Kerala Information Technology Department's efforts to showcase the State as a natural hub for information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services got a boost with Wipro chairman Azim Premji expressing interest to expand his company's footprint in Kochi.

Wipro is a major player in IT landscape of the city with a full-fledged private campus at Infopark in Kakkanad. The 10-hectare campus has a built-up space of 10 lakh sq.ft. It employs 1,900 people and focusses on software development, with domestic and international clients.

Mr. Premji's announcement focussing on business process outsourcing (BPO) ventures in Kochi had only confirmed the speculation to that effect. At the request of Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, during the course of their meeting on Thursday, Mr. Premji agreed to expand the campus with prominence to BPO ventures in the domains of law and finance.

Sources said Wipro had for long harboured massive expansion plans in Kochi focussed on BPO and that could spell good for the job scene in the IT sector recovering from the global recession. The company had plans to find new land for expanding operations here.

The company has room for expanding and accommodating more employees on the present campus. It can easily accommodate another 7,000-8,000 staff there, sources said.

Fruitful meeting

Ajay Kumar, Principal Secretary, IT, told The Hindu over the phone on Friday that the meeting Mr. Premji had with the Chief Minister boded well for the State. “He was happy with the overall investment climate and satisfied with the operation of his Kochi campus. He expressed interest to expand his operations in Kochi and we on our part assured all assistance,” he said.

Sources said the State could attract the company to its smaller IT parks in Koratty, Cherthala, and Ambalappuzha, if it were to go ahead with the plan for launching BPOs.

The State could sell the attraction of cost-effective operations possible for BPO ventures in these parks.

A majority of the companies operating out of the park at Koratty were BPOs, and that was a testimony to this possibility. Proximity to the international airport at Nedumbassery was another selling point of the Koratty park.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/22/stories/2010052260310100.htm
 
#23 ·
Link for IT park, Airport-Seaport Road

http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/18/stories/2010061858990800.htm

VS to open new road link

Link for IT park, Airport-Seaport Road

KOCHI: Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan will inaugurate the new four-lane InfoPark Expressway linking the IT park with the Airport-Seaport Road on June 26. On the same day, the Chief Minister will also inaugurate ‘Athulya,' Kerala's latest smart space at InfoPark.

The new road link is the result of a general demand from IT companies, which have made their home at InfoPark and will provide speedy connection to Cochin International Airport, 22 km away. The link road was built at a cost of Rs.30 crore.

The new 2.6-km link road will ease the heavy vehicular traffic to InfoPark, which had seen an increase in the number of companies over the last few years, said Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Chief Executive Officer, InfoPark in a press release.

Based on the administrative sanction from the State government, a total of 15.3 acres of land was used for widening the roads. The road will be beneficial not only to InfoPark but also for other industrial and educational institutions situated in the area close to InfoPark, he added.

Smart space

New smart space ‘Athulya' is housed in a 7.1-acre plot and has a built-up area of 5.5 lakh sq.ft. It can house a software development block with an area of 3.5 lakh sq.ft., a cafeteria building and multi-level car parking. The total seating capacity of the building is 4,000.

“Athulya is designed to be a perfect blend of intelligent workspaces, state-of-the-art infrastructure, a 360-degree support facility and lifestyle amenities seamlessly integrated within one complex to create singular business environment of hi-technology companies,” said Mr. Bhattacharya. Forty-five per cent of the space has already been sold out and, on being operational, it will provide world-class working infrastructure for companies which are keen to set up a global work environment in Kerala.

Athulya also boasts of facilities such as incubation centres and training rooms, direct four-lane connectivity road.
 
#24 ·
VS to open new building complex of Infopark today

I didnt see this news in any of the malayalam newspapers or channels. Its pity that our malayalam news channels are mum about this and always behind Smart City. Clearly shows the hidden agenda of medias in kerala against the government. Project got completed in 15 months. TECOM couldnt able to complete a building like this after 3 years also.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan will inaugurate Athulya, the 5.5 lakh-sq.ft. new building complex in the Infopark campus at Kakkanad, on Sunday at 4 p.m.

He will also inaugurate the Infopark expressway, a four-lane road connecting the Cochin International Airport. Fisheries Minister S. Sarma will preside and Transport Minister Jose Thettayil will deliver the keynote address.

Set on 7.1 acres of land, Athulya has been designed as an energy efficient eco-friendly building. It houses a software development block with an area of 3.5 lakh sq.ft, a cafeteria and multi-level car parking for 111 cars with a direct connectivity to a four lane road.

Incubation centres, training rooms, a 35, 50 and 100-seater module with plug and play facility and a total seating capacity 4,000 are the other highlights.

The building also provides for maintenance teams, a large and efficient floor plate with flexibility for conversion into smaller modules, uninterrupted power supply as well as a treated water system, quality housekeeping and security and SEZ benefits for new IT units.

Talking to The Hindu Infopark Chief Executive Officer Siddhartha Bhattacharya pointed out that Athulya was one of most modern projects to be undertaken by the premier IT house of the State.

He said that the project was significant for more than one reason citing its designated Special Economic Zone status and four-lane connectivity among its many features.

Mr. Bhattacharya said that even if Infopark were to grow organically at 70 to 80 per cent, that itself would mean that there was a requirement for the existing companies to migrate to SEZ.

“Athulya is nicely positioned to take advantage of that industrial transition. It provides an option to the companies operating in Kerala to take the SEZ benefits upfront,” Mr. Bhattacharya said.

Regarding Athulya as a right project that has come up at the right time he took pride in the fact that it was completed in a record 15 months.

The expressway built at a cost of Rs. 30 crore, would ensure easier access to the Airport, 22km from the park.

Mr. Bhattacharya said that the new expressway will be highly beneficial not only for Infopark but also other industrial and educational institutions situated in the region.

The 2.6km stretch connection Infopark to Seaport Road is also expected to ease traffic during peak hours.

Principal IT Secretary Ajay Kumar said that Infopark had already created a built-up area of 30 lakhs sq. ft. during its first phase.

Infopark intends to add another 20 lakh sq. ft. to the existing campus within the next 3 years, generating capability for employing approximately 40,000 IT professionals.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/article488762.ece
 
#25 ·
2.4-km Infopark Expressway and Rs.95-crore Athulya IT building opened

http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/28/stories/2010062856330100.htm

KOCHI: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan on Sunday said the uncertainty over SmartCity would be over within days.

Speaking after opening the 2.4-km Infopark Expressway that links up with the Airport-Seaport road, and the Rs.95-crore Athulya IT building on the Infopark campus here, the Chief Minister said SmartCity's failure to come up with the project had not caused much of a loss. The rapid growth of Infopark, in the public sector, had compensated for the SmartCity delay, he said.

When, over four years ago, the United Democratic Front government had planned to hand over Infopark to SmartCity, it had only 33,000 jobs in mind. But, Infopark, which still stayed in the public sector, would provide much more number of jobs. When the second phase development of Infopark was completed, an additional one lakh jobs could be created. Already, Infopark provided 10,000 jobs. The Athulya building, with its 5.5 lakh square feet of floor space, would bring in about 5,000 jobs. He said the retaining of Infopark in the public sector was an achievement of his government.

He said the floor space at the IT parks in the State had grown by five-fold in the last two years. The government wanted to take IT facilitation centres to villages, and not to confine them to Kochi or Thiruvananthapuram.

Tractor unit opened

The Chief Minister, while inaugurating a tractor manufacturing unit of the Kerala Agro Machinery Corporation at Athani, near here, said the government would not permit destruction of environment in the name of development.

He said the government had a well-defined policy on sanctioning permits to industries and tackling pollution.

He said the government had permitted Coca-Cola to operate in the State in view of the employment opportunities it offered. But the company had caused serious environmental degradation and losses exceeding Rs.200 crore [at Plachimada in Palakkad where it owned a plant]. The government was in the process of setting up a tribunal to recover the damages, he said.

Though the government had adopted a clear policy on environmental protection, certain bureaucrats were not keen on supporting the action taken against the cola company. It would not be surprising if such people opposed a ban on Endosulfan, a pesticide which had produced disastrous results on its application in some areas of the State, he said. Such bureaucrats were apparently following the policies of the former government, he said.

The Chief Minister said the government was also opposed to experimentation with genetically modified seeds in the State.

Again, certain bureaucrats were not in favour of the government policy, he said.




 
#26 ·
SEZ status to 36 acres at Kochi Infopark
Express News Service
First Published : 14 Jul 2010 04:04:05 AM IST
Last Updated : 14 Jul 2010 10:29:25 AM IST

KOCHI: Giving a boost to the IT developments of Kerala, the Central Government on Tuesday granted formal approval for special economic zone (SEZ) status to 36 acres of the 160 acres for the second phase of Infopark in Kochi.

This decision was taken at a meeting of the Board of Approvals, Ministry of Commerce, held at New Delhi.

The second phase of Infopark Kochi is to be developed on 160 acres of land at the Kunnathunadu and Puthencruz villages. Around 2 lakh sqft of space will be built on the 36 acres offering employment opportunities to around 2,500 people. There will be around 8 million sqft of builtup area in the second phase.

SEZ status has already been given to 78 acres as a part of the first phase of Infopark, which could offer around 10,500 employment so far. Of the 50 million sqft to be built in the first phase, the construction of buildings with a builtup area has been completed.

"This time the Infopark got the SEZ status within a fortnight of submitting application. It will be a boon to Infopark," a top official with Infopark said.

"According to norms, the construction of building in the SEZ land should be completed within three years of granting the status. We will be starting works of infrastruture development and the construction of buildings soon," he said. The park will house domestic parks as well as Special Economic Zones for IT/ITES.

The current financial year's budget of State Government has an allocation of Rs 50 crores towards infrastructure development schemes for the second phase.
 
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