Knowledge City EoI for developer
The project aims at bringing research and development institutions of international repute
By : arjun raghunath
Update: 2014-10-23 05:33 GMT
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Knowledge City, one of the ten projects mooted by Kerala's mentor Sam Pitroda about two years ago, is finally taking shape with 100 acres of land being earmarked for the project at Technocity project area. An Expression of Interest to identify the private partner for developing the project has also been invited.
The project aims at bringing research and development institutions of international repute in areas of electronics, pharma, IT/ITeS and other knowledge industries on a single campus with state of the art infrastructure. The main focus of the project will be on intellectual property and value creation rather that job creation even as 20,000 direct jobs and two lakh indirect jobs could be generated. A total investment of Rs 14,000 cr is expected for this ambitious project of the State Government.
While mooting the project in 2012, Pitroda had said a Knowledge City would make Kerala a global leader. Apart from facilities for knowledge clusters, the project also involves residential and commercials facilities and other support infrastructure on the same campus. The State Government has decided to develop Knowledge City under the Private-Public-Partnership model.
A special purpose vehicle will be formed with the State Government holding a 26 per cent stake in it. Land at Technocity will be given on a 90-year lease and the lease premium will be converted as State Government shares.
The private partner for the project will be finalised through Request-for-Proposal process from among the organisations shortlisted though Expression of Interest. The responsibilities of the private partner include developing a master plan, arranging funds for capital expenditure and working capital and even bringing in leading institutions.