SmartCity: Govt to sort out issues delaying construction work

In a bid to accelerate Kerala's dream SmartCity project, the state government today decided to sort out issues related to various government departments which cause delay in construction work.
"The issues related to various government departments in the SmartCity project will be sorted out soon," Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson said after evaluating the progress of the project here.
The Chief Secretary directed District Collector Rajamanikyam to take action on encroachments in the Special Economic Zone, amounting to nearly 35 cents.
The issue related to registration of lease deed of the co-developers for want of clarification on their eligibility for stamp duty exemption will also be sorted out very soon, Thomson said.

"Construction of the road from Edachira to Brahmapuram Bridge will start on Monday. The estimate for the construction of road from Brahmapuram to Karimugal will be prepared by July 31. The other infrastructure facilities will be completed on a long term basis," Thomson said.
The Chief Secretary hoped that the first IT complex can be inaugurated in August or September.

Later, the Chief Secretary and officials visited the site of the first IT complex, which is nearing completion.
Baju George, interim CEO of the project, said the project has been put under an "acceleration mode" to overcome past delays by adopting more aggressive project plan and increasing the manpower.

Forty per cent of the space in the first IT complex has already been leased out to IT companies, he said.
SmartCity has five co-developers who had obtained approvals from the Commerce Ministry to construct 43 lakh sq ft of IT office space in next 30-36 months, he said.