Kochi SmartCity Construction Works to Start in November

As per the latest news, Dubai's Tecom and partners are planning to start the construction of the prestigious SmartCity project in Kochi by November.

The second project monitoring committee meeting of the SmartCity Kochi project was held yesterdat in Dubai under the Chairmanship of Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, Member of the Supreme Fiscal Committee of Dubai. The meeting was also by  prominent persons such asAbdul Latheef Al Mulla, Vice-Chairman, SmartCity and Group CEO Tecom, Dr Adnan Chilwan, Deputy CEO, Dubai Islamic Bank, Suresh Kumar, CEO of Emirates NBD Capital, Yousuf Ali M.A., Vice-Chairman of Norka Roots, Government of Kerala, and Dr Baju George, Managing Director, SmartCity.

The meeting reviewed the progress of the SmartCity Kochi project and set a time line for the activities that is supposed to be completed in the first year. The meeting also allotted the required funds for the same. As per the reports from various sources, the construction works of the Kochi SmartCity project would start on 29th September. As per the project plan the work on the headquarters building of the Cochin SmartCity project would start from November 19th and the committee  have also included Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy as a special invitee to the SmartCity Kochi board. Apart from Oommen Chandy, Kerala Ports and Excise Minister K. Babu and Yousuf Ali M.A. have also been included as special invitees.

As per Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, things are moving fast and work would begin next month according to the time table  and all the hitches seems to be over enough to make the SmartCity Kochi project move on a fast track.

It was Shri Oommen Chandy who had first finalised the proposed mega IT project during  his previous tenure as the Chief Minister of Kerala.  But unfortunately during the Left Democratic Front reign, headed by V.S. Achuthanandan  nothing else happened except for the foundation stone laid for the project.

Cruise Tourism is Back in Cochin

With the country’s first cruise liner AMET Cruises launching its operations from the first week of October, Kochi is all set to welcome the prestigious cruise tourism. The M V AMET Majesty will be initially setting sail from Kochi to Maldives, Lakshwadeep and  would also be undertaking a cruise on the high sea.

The M V AMET Majesty would sail from Kochi to Maldives (four nights), Kochi-Lakshadweep (two nights) every week and would also operate one high-sea trip during the night for those trying something new for holidaying.

The AMET cruise has introduced a new and unique holiday format, recreation and entertainment in the country. Before, the only the foreign cruise liners used to visit the Indian ports  and were always focused towards the rich people. But now AMET cruise has come out with the rightly priced packages which bring cruise tourism options within the reach of the urban middle class. The minimum price for the cruise would be around Rs 5,000 per person for a night and port charges. Special packages would be offered for those who book the cruise in advance.

The AMET cruise is planning to operate throughout the year and would operate in the west coast from October to March and in the east coast from April to September.

Some of the features of the AMET cruise include dance floor, disco casinos, show lounges bars, swimming pool, barbeque, conference room, kids’ zone, event floor for business meets, seminars, trade shows, anniversaries and social gatherings. Apart from these the cruise comes with luxurious state rooms, suites and stag cabins.

Major Benefits of the Kochi - Mangalore Gas Pipeline

The much awaited Kochi-Konjirkod-Bangalore-Mangalore pipeline will become a reality soon as Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) had received the authorization for laying the Kochi-Kanjirkkod-Bangalore-Mangalore pipeline from Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in 2007. Now the company has started land acquiring process for this purpose and the 3,700 crore project involving 1,114km long pipeline from Aluva to Kanjikode, Kanjikode to Palakkad, Kanjikode to Mangalore and from Palakkad to Bangalore, would be implemented in two stages.

Some of the major benefits of the Kochi Mangalore gas pilpeline are

1) Uninterrupted power supply
The Kochi - Mangalore gas pipeline would be offering uninterrupted power supply to all industrial units and business establishments which would be paving the way for the overall development of the area

2) Cheap and Quality Power Gas
The Kochi - Mangalore gas pipeline would also provide quality and cheap power and gas.

3) LPG trucks would disappear from the roads and as a result transportation would become cheaper

4) LNG is much safer than LPG

5) Domestic gas will be supplied through pipeline under the city gas scheme in the major cities like Cochin,
Mangalore, Coimbatore  in the future.  This city gas scheme is supposed to cover over 200 cities in India.

6) LNG is environmental friendly and as a result it would lead to green and clean city with almost 25% reduction in environment pollution

7) Helps in making the import of crude oil to come down by almost 10 per cent

India’s First International biennale to be Hosted in Cochin

India’s first international Biennale in November next year is all set to be hosted in Cochin which would be pushing Kerala's tourism appeal to new heights. A record number of 1.3 million visitors from across the world are expected to meet at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale during the three months. The event would begin on November 2012 in the heritage zones of the city in order to view works by some 75 artists from 45 countries as part of a visual arts festival taking place in Kochi and Muziris. Both Kochi and Muziris are an area  which boasts of rich and unique culture and history.

The chief promoters of the event are in talks with many corporate houses on behalf of  sponsorship including household brands such  as car companies and leading banks. All these companies are interested in supporting the event and  the promoters are hoping to forge long-term relationships with them for at least three biennales. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is inspired by the world’s oldest Biennale in Venice, and aims to bring together superstars in the art world across the globe and young budding local talents in the centuries old city which boasts of rich legacies of Europe, Africa, South East and Far East Asian and as well as China.

The legendary Muziris port city which  existed until the flood of 1341, was discovered during the recent excavations at the nearby region in Kodungalloor. Kerala government is planning to build a tourism circuit in the near future. Muziris is actually known as the gateway to Judaism, Christianity and Islam in India and  its rich maritime history dates back to 1st century BC. The biennale comes in handy for the Kerala which wields its soft power to attract tourists.

The Kochi Biennale Foundation will be restoring the heritage buildings built by the Dutch, Portuguese, the English and the local Maharajahs to their past glory and would be left to the participating artists to exhibit their works. The cost of the maiden edition of the Biennale is estimated to be at Rs750 million and the state government would be offering a part of financial support for the same.