Work on Kozhikode IT park set to begin

Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan will lay the foundation stone for the third information technology hub of the southern state in Kozhikode on last week

At the event, the chief minister will also launch the UL Cyberpark project which has already received federal clearance for special economic zone (SEZ) status.

The foundation stone for the first IT building at Cyberpark will be laid by the federal Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mullapally Ramachandran in the presence of state ministers and officials.

Officials said Cyberpark is the first eco-friendly IT park being developed under the hub-and-spoke model in the Malabar region. The hub is being built on 43 acres in Kozhikode with spokes in Kannur and Kasaragod districts.
The park will provide SEZ and non-SEZ space for clients serving the domestic and international markets.
With an abundant talent pool, higher quality of living and lower cost of operation, Kozhikode has already been on the radar of a number of IT investors. The park will provide the basic infrastructure.

“The first phase of the project is expected to generate direct employment for 1,500 in 2011 and the 3mn sq ft of built-up space at the completion will generate some 30,000 direct jobs by 2015. We expect to start construction work by July,” Cyberpark CEO Binu Pazhoor said.

The park had recently got the draft declaration approved by the land revenue commissioner towards completing the land acquisition process.

The IT building will be ready for commercial launch by early 2011. “There is a great deal of interest from national and international companies and once the development work of phase I of Cyberpark commences, we will start work on phase II. With the completion of Cyberpark, Kerala will be totally connected and will become the most preferred IT state in the next five years,” claims Dr Ajay Kumar the state’s principal secretary, IT.
Under the hub-and-spoke model, Kerala is promoting similar projects with Technopark-Thiruvananthapuram and Infopark-Kochi acting as the hubs while satellite centers in Kollam, Ambalapuzha, Cherthala and Thrissur as spokes.

The Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Ltd (KSITI) is undertaking the setting up of Technocity, phase IV of Technopark here, and is planning to float location-specific special purpose vehicles with private partners for establishing IT parks across the state.