Aerotropolis Cochin

Land-1300 Acres

Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) is planning to develop an Aerotropolis (Airport City) consisting of Star Hotels, Golf Course, Convention Centre, Logistics Centre, Amusement Park, cultural village, etc.. The Aerotropolis, which will also focus on medical tourism centres.

CIAL and CUSAT (Cochin University of Science and Technology) are starting an aircraft maintenance facility or maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and also setting up an aviation training institute that will train engineers, pilots and other professionals required for airports and airlines.The airport-based special economic zone (SEZ) with an estimated cost of Rs5,000 crore will come on 450 acres of land. An airport-based SEZ is a duty-free region developed near an airport that will require minimum clearances to start industries. The proposed maintenance, repair and overhaul centre for aircraft, IT/ITeS park and other knowledge processing based projects will be coming under this airport-based SEZ .

A team of officials and people's representatives undertook a survey of the four-km route from Aluva to the Kochi international airport to explore the possibility of extending the proposed Aluva-Pettah elevated metro rail project.Rs.300 crore will have to be added to the Rs.3000-odd crore metro rail project.The proposed extension line would pass through Thuruth, Avanam Kodu, Chowara, and Neduvannur and take a diversion to the airport with the final extension near the domestic cargo terminal.The extension, designed to be constructed parallel to the existing rail line, is expected to bring economic advantages to both the CIAL and the metro railway, including high passenger as well as cargo movements from the airport to the city and vice versa. Further, the increased and speedy accessibility to the airport with such an extension will add to the viability of the proposed 'aerotropolis' around the CIAL.

Kochi Metro Rail Project

he project will be executed on BOT basis. The two-way metro rail will be 25-km long and will run from Alwaye and go through Kalamassery, Edappally and Palarivattom to Kaloor, and from MG Road via Madhava Pharmacy Junction, Kadavanthra and Pettah to Tripunithura.. It will have 22 stations and would be built on a raised platform on pillars in 25 acres of land including 10 acres of private land. This 3000 crore project will get 40 per cent funds from the state and the Centre will take off in April and be completed within the stipulated three years and be implemented by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. Actual work is expected to take three years after the government acquires the land. It will also be underground like the Delhi Metro in the future.The train coaches will be lightweight with a stainless steel body, fully air conditioned, vestibuled with pneumatic suspension.

AN ARTISTS CONCEPTION OF THE COCHIN METRO RAIL PROJECT

HE INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL AT VALLARPADHAM

Vallarpadam is a part of the existing Cochin port.Vallarpadam Container Terminal Project (VCTP) will be a unique project in infrastructure, especially to boost containerization in India. VCTP will be India's first ever International Container Trans-shipment Terminal (ICTT). According to a CNBC report, this project will enable India to move into the top 20 mari time nations.

A PICTURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL AT VALLARPADHAM

YASORAM SKYCITY - COCHIN A FLYOVER

Designed with the prime intention of reducing traffic in Cochin

The skycity will extend from kundannoor near NH 47 byepass in the south to sahodaran ayyappan road in the north, passing above the chilavannoor bund road and the backwaters. Another stretch of the skycity will extend from the sahodaran ayyappan road to the subhash chandrabose road.

PICTURE OF YASORAM SKYCITY

FLYOVER BRIDGE THAT RUNS 30 FT ABOVE LAND AND BACKWATERS

LULU Supermaket in Cochin

UAE-based retail major LuLu, which runs 58 stores in the Gulf, is gearing up to start construction on a 1.2 million square foot mall in Kochi, Kerala, it's maiden project in India.

LuLu, the flagship supermarket and hypermarket brand of Indian-owned conglomerate Emke Group, will act as the mall's anchor store with a 200,000 square foot hypermarket. It will lease out space for a further 170 international and regional brands and a food court.

SMART CITY IN COCHIN BY THE DUBAI INTERNET CITY GROUP

Dubai's Internet City will set up the Smart City in Kochi, Kerala. Kerala government announced that they received the letter saying they have decided to set up the Smart City at Kochi. Several states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were after the the Dubai Internet City for the project, and finally Kerala bagged the project.

The total project cost would be Rs.15 billion and they would bring in the whole investment. To start with, Kerala government is providing them 200 acres of land in Kakkanadu, near the Kochi Infopark. The smart city will need around 1,000 acres of land when it reaches the final stages of the project.

he Smart City, expected to create more than 100,000 new jobs in the first stage and around 5 Lakhs jobs directly and indirectly in the last stage, would provide critical infrastructure for IT services and IT-enabled service companies.

Dubai Internet City officials visited Kerala during November 2004 to inspect the land and infrastructure proposed by Kerala government. Kerala government already has 200 acres of land in its posession and the rest will be acquired soon.

The smart city gives a great opportunity for Kerala to compete with Karnataka and Tamilnadu in Information Technology.

A PICTURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL AT VALLARPADHAM

Kerala to go Wi-Maxsoon

KOCHI, KERALA: Kerala will very soon join the prestigious WiMax - wireless broadband in common man's parlance - club. BSNL is bringing the entire state under the WiMax cover along with a few select states namely Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.

"In the first phase we will introduce the system in the cities of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode and major towns of Kannur, Thrissur, Kottayam and Kollam. We hope that the facility could be provided to our customers in these places within five months, perhaps a bit earlier,'' said BSNL Kerala Circle general manager (general) Haribabu.

BSNL is planning to extend the Wi Max (World Interoperability for Microwave Access) connectivity to the entire state in a year or so.

Though the service provider is yet to decide the price of the service, Haribabu hints that it will be a little costlier than the net through cables. "It is worth as it is amazingly fast and user-friendly," he said.

Anyhow net connection is expected to change the destiny of IT industry in Kerala. WiMax connectivity will definitely further deepen the net penetration in the State. Moreover, it will enable the State to emerge as the Silicon Valley of the country.

Across the world, IT industry is moving interiors to save cost. Kerala with a fairly better road-rail-air connectivity, high social indices and evenly distributed manpower makes a better bet.

Gold Souk to set up Mall in Kochi

AERENS Gold Souk International Ltd, a real estate developer, is setting up a mall for jewellery and wedding shopping - Gold Souk and Wedding Souk - in Kochi.

pread over 2.4 acres on the National Highway near Vyttila Junction, the souk will have about 150 shops. The company is planning to invest Rs 100 crore in the project. The mall will house reputed jewellers from India and abroad. There will be an exclusive area for wedding service providers such as caterers, card printers, florists and travel agents.

It will be the third out of the 10 malls to set up by the company in the next five years.