Kochi Smart City Will Be Ready In 3 years: Pinarayi Vijayan

Kochi: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the Kochi Smart City project will be fully ready in three years.

Mr Vijayan's party had boycotted the function when Kochi Smart City's first phase was inaugurated in February this year, after eleven years.

Then leader of opposition VS Achuthanandan, who was one of the high profile invitees, did not turn up. The CPI-M organised a protest meet and said that there has been a deviation from the original Kochi Smart City agreement.

However, on Thursday Mr Vijayan, after meeting top officials of the project, which is being jointly developed by Dubai Smart City and the Kerala government, issued a statement that the project will be going forward as per the agreement.

The chief minister also said that it will be completed in three years -- the agreement that was inked with the previous Chandy government.

"When completed, there will be one lakh jobs in the Kochi Smart City and the total area earmarked for IT operations will be 67 lakh sq ft and 21 lakh sq ft for non-IT needs," said Mr Vijayan.

In February, the first phase was opened which has an area of 6.5 lakh sq feet and several companies have started operations.

The CPI-M had ridiculed the then Chandy government that there is not a single IT company of repute that has opened.

In November 2005, the MoU of this project was inked under the then Chandy government.

And following the change in government, the framework agreement was signed in 2007 by the Achuthanandan government and it was taken forward again only in 2011 after the Chandy government assumed office.