Cochin highrises, pictures and projects - II

[sowmya]

Yes vineetha and renik, It is a real shame that our chief minister is now bothered only about eviction of encroachments instead of doing some improvements. Bhramapuram may come but what is the solution in short run.
Anyway lets wait and see. Until then we can only rejoice about various projects which are coming into Kochi and the pace at which the city is growing in spite of lack of govt support.

Originally Posted by vineeta

soumya,
youve hit the nail on the head..all this brouhaha about the projects in the pipeline, comes to nothing with the city soon turning into a stinking garbage slum...
there is no will, no direction, to solve this huge looming crisis...i dont know if they will allow the brahmapuram plant to come up...ever..
the lesser i talk of the roads, the better i feel..
this palce is fast going to the dogs..despite people and corporates wanting to invest...which is such a crying shame..

[elm07]

Funny that they say "software manufacturing" .....

http://www.business-standard.com/ice...o=292410&tab=r

Riyadh IT firm enters Kerala

Arab Sea Company Ltd, a Riyadh-based IT company, rolled out its Indian operations today by launching its sales management and accounting systems (SMACC) software.

The company plans to start a full-fledged software manufacturing centre at the proposed Smart City near Kochi and would invest Rs 10 crore for the project, Haithem Mohd S Al-Sehabani, executive director of the company, told the media.

The company has appointed Kochi-based Boon Innovations Limited as the regional distributor for Kerala and plans to appoint technical persons in every district of the state to provide better after sales support.

He added that the company would come out with 4 editions of the SMACC software in India. The package is priced in a range of Rs 15,000 to Rs 26,000.

[sowmya]

Good to hear that Smart city has started getting bookings at this stage itself

Originally Posted by elm07

Funny that they say "software manufacturing" .....

http://www.business-standard.com/ice...o=292410&tab=r

[sowmya]

Another news on LNG project. The construction work likely to begin by year end.

http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bi...6457&BV_ID=@@@

[sowmya]

Yet another industrial park may come to Kochi though not sure.
Government keen on setting up defence production park . But there are
very less chances since Kochi is crammed up with other parks and hitech cities
so there is very less space compared to the other two parks.

Staff Reporter


Proposes Palakkad, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram as centres

http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/28/stor...2853360400.htm




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Government has moved Union Defence Ministry

State to help in setting up common facilities


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KOCHI: Kerala, eyeing for a big share of the Rs.30,000-crore defence components market in the country, wants to set up an exclusive defence production park, and has proposed Palakkad, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram as possible places to establish the facility.

Industries Minister Elamaram Karim said the Government had brought to the notice of the Union Defence Ministry that substantial acreage was available in Palakkad for setting up a defence park and that the State was ready to look at Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram if a feasibility study pointed to setting up the park at these locations.

Mr. Karim was speaking to reporters after the valedictory of the two-day Defence Industry Symposium organised jointly by the Department of Industries, the Kerala State Small Industries Association and the Confederation of Indian Industry here on Friday.

Finding land

Besides finding land for the defence park, the Government would extend help to set up common facilities like research and development. The Government was also keen to see major private sector players in defence production coming to use the facilities being promised by the defence park. Mr. Karim said that industrial units from Kerala — most of them public sector companies — earned around Rs.300 crore annually from supplying products to the national defence establishment or just about one per cent of the defence establishment’s purchases from the domestic market envisioned through the Offset Policy 2006.

Besides engineering and communications equipment, Kerala had substantial strength in food processing which could also be used for supplies to the armed forces. Meat Products of India, a Government-owned meat processing unit in Koothattukulam would explore the possibility of getting orders from the defence establishment, the Minister said.

BrahMos production

The Thiruvananthapuram-based Kerala High Tech Industries was being taken over by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a hub for BrahMos production. The unit was handed over to the DRDO.

Other public sector units with defence tie-ups were being identified and they would take a cue from the strong ties the public sector Keltron had forged with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Coir and other traditional products too had great potential in the defence market, said Mr. Karim. Foam Mattings was capable of getting orders from the defence establishment and a process of negotiation was set in motion, he said.

T. Balakrishnan, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce, and T.O. Sooraj, Director, Industries, were also present at the press conference.





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[thunderboltz]

Originally Posted by elm07

Funny that they say "software manufacturing" .....

http://www.business-standard.com/ice...o=292410&tab=r

Not so funny when the profession's called software engineering!

[ReNik]

Originally Posted by sowmya

Yet another industrial park may come to Kochi though not sure.
Government keen on setting up defence production park . But there are
very less chances since Kochi is crammed up with other parks and hitech cities
so there is very less space compared to the other two parks.

On the other hand, FACT has dedicated 100 acres of its 800 odd acres at Ambalamugal
campus for a defense park. This has been approved by Central govt already.

[sowmya]

There a question to Mr.Elamaram Karim whether the new park will be a threat to the proposed industrial park.He replied that sometimes the new industrial park will be in the FACT land itself. It looks as though both the parks are the same. He said that consultant will be appointed for feasiblity studies in the three tows. They may decide that FACT land is the most appropriate.

Originally Posted by ReNik

On the other hand, FACT has dedicated 100 acres of its 800 odd acres at Ambalamugal
campus for a defense park. This has been approved by Central govt already.

[ReNik]

Railway's part of Edappally ROB is over. Approaches are not ready yet.
At Pulleppady it is the other way.


jimmystrains flickr gallery

All the crossing with highest volumes of traffic in Kerala are in Kochi.
But many insignificant crossings across state get priority over Kochi.





Here is SCMS at night

aroop_d flickr gallery

[dr_know]

Kochi port is likely to be benefited by cargo diversion from Tuticorin following the decision of PSA Terminal to restrict its operation in the container terminal there.

“There is every possibility of a cargo diversion from Tuticorin to Kochi and we are preparing ourselves to grab the opportunity arising out of it,” a senior official at the DP World, which operates the container terminal in Kochi told Business Line.

To exploit the situation, he said the DP World has initiated measures to woo cargo by organising trade meets at the hinterland centres of Karur, Coimbatore and Tirupur of late. “We are all aware of the situation at Tuticorin and have taken steps to enhance our visibility in the market,” he said.

Restricting operations

It may be recalled that the PSA Terminal had taken a decision to restrict its operations to handle only three lakh teus per annum with effect from July 1 in protest against the TAMP order on reducing handling rates.

The DP World official said that they had already started discussion with the shipping lines with regard to spill over cargo from Tuticorin to Kochi. Already there is a movement of cargo diversion to Kochi and a clear picture will emerge within a couple of weeks. Many of the leading shipping lines have started accepting bookings to West African ports either through Chennai or Kochi and they have started enquiring about the facilities offered at Kochi, he added. The company has taken steps to enhance market coverage, shipping line discussions etc. in its efforts to attract cargo. Moreover, the introduction of 24x7 work hours with hot seat exchange system in Kochi will be an added advantage to get a sizeable portion of cargo from Tuticorin, he said.

Benefits

However, sources in the shipping fraternity said that as the shippers in Tuticorin had enjoyed various benefits while carrying out their operations, the terminal operator here should also extend the same benefits for the diverted cargo. Citing an instance, the sources pointed out that there is no cut off for export containers at PSA Terminal and they are not even collecting any additional charges for the late arrival containers.

Besides, the vessel operators should also take steps to increase the tonnage to accommodate the diverted cargo from Tuticorin. Currently, Kochi is facing heavy congestion due to raw cashew imports and the transportation of nuts from the port to processing centres is in a slow pace due to monsoon.

hindu.com

[rajkrish]

Why can't Kochi have a solid waste management and treatment facility like the one in Trivandrum, which is run by Poabsons. Are the corporation authorities sleeping there?. And why are the people protesting like they haven't heard about the word garbage?. I guess somebody like the civic authorities should educate them about this.

[Wellwisher]

Originally Posted by rajkrish

Why can't Kochi have a solid waste management and treatment facility like the one in Trivandrum, which is run by Poabsons. Are the corporation authorities sleeping there?. And why are the people protesting like they haven't heard about the word garbage?. I guess somebody like the civic authorities should educate them about this.

________________________________
Kochi public and its authorities got to get into this garbage awareness now. As far as I see that TVM is keen in improving the infrastructure. it is time for Kochi to move and think in the same direction because the rewards in the future could be
multifold!!

[dr_know]

by LensAlive

Vallarpadam work in progress...

[ReNik]

Originally Posted by Wellwisher

________________________________
Kochi public and its authorities got to get into this garbage awareness now. As far as I see that TVM is keen in improving the infrastructure. it is time for Kochi to move and think in the same direction because the rewards in the future could be
multifold!!

I do not know the details. But isn't there a fault on the part of Corporation ?
They acquire land just enough to build the plant where they should have acquired 100-200 acres so that there are no squeamish "neighbors".

Correct me if I'm wrong, this happened in Trivandrum too when they were setting
up the plant. Now it looks more or less settled, save minor once in a while whining.

But, Brahmapuram has the additional manipulation by builder lobby. But now it looks like
the plant will come up in 6-7 months.

[ReNik]

Hi-tech City ON !!

Hi-tech City project kick started
Monday July 30 2007 00:00 IST

T'PURAM: After months of internal wrangling within the LDF, the State Government has finally given the green signal to Sobha Developers for the creation of the Rs 5000-crore Hi-tech City at Maradu in Kochi, the highest ever private investment in the state.

The memorandum of understanding between the state government and Sobha Developers is expected to be signed during the second week of August. The draft of the MoU has already been prepared and will be sent to the Industry Department for final approval this week.

Though the government's role will only be that of a facilitator, the Cabinet has decided to enter into an MoU with Sobha Developers.

An MoU with a State government, official sources said, is mandatory for a private party to secure Special Economic Zone status.

The proposal but did not have a smooth passage. There was vehement opposition right from the moment the proposal was tabled in the Cabinet by Industry Minister Elamaram Kareem.

It is learnt that the proposal was given the green signal after repeated, often animated, discussions at least in four cabinet meetings. The project is supported by the Industry Department and hence it is learnt that the IT Department has not seen the file.

This would be the highest ever investment the state has ever witnessed in the private sector. The Smart City deal, which is a private-public partnership, is estimated at Rs 1400 crore.

Sobha Developers have purchased 400 acres of land at Maradu island in Kochi for the setting up of the knowledge-based Hi-tech city. The plan is to set up a satellite township with commercial and residential blocks along with the participation of knowledge-based industries including IT.

[ani07]

WIMAX in Cochin?

ABS has also deployed WiMAX Networks beyond Chennai with limited coverage in many other prominent Indian cities such as Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi, Cochin and Ahmedabad and would extend its pan-city coverage in a phased manner. Apart from these, ABS also plans to WiMAX another 26 cities in the near future.

9 month old news-
http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/ne...article/244915

[ReNik]

Kochi beamed live by sify!!! Being one of the four southern growth engines,
Kochi gets live updates of happenings along with Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai
and Hyderabad.

Look who’s watching you!
Monday July 30 2007 12:49 IST - New Indian Express


KOCHI: How about watching your aamchi Kochi live on the web?

Yes, leading consumer portal Sify.com is all set to launch a live video streaming website: www.kochilive.in.

Log on and watch the happenings in Kochi - traffic routes and diversions, latest events and lots more - live. This website follows the launch of other happening sites like mumbailive.in, bangalorelive. in, hyderabadlive.in and chennailive.in. kochilive.in will have a collection of videos from the city.

Video feeds obtained from traffic web cams stationed at key junctions will be uploaded on the website.

“This will help citizens to plan their routes by checking the site for the prevailing traffic conditions,” said officials.

The authorities haven’t yet decided when to launch the website. However, sources from Sify have made it clear that it will be launched soon.

“chennailive.in was launched on July 24, 2007 based on positive results from other city websites. Being a prominent city, Kochi is in the list of possible areas. The portal will be launched soon,” said sources.

“The portal is being launched to provide the best access to information about the city, and as a way for people to keep in touch with their town. The portal will be an online community - a platform for citizens to share their views. There will be discussions on various topics,” they said.

The site will have videos on various categories - like information on the latest films, hot spots in the city, best deals, best eateries et al.

[sowmya]

Dr Know

Is this the work of the railway line which is going on?

Originally Posted by dr_know

by LensAlive

Vallarpadam work in progress...

[sowmya]

So Kochi has really started kicking now with many projects-Hi Tech city, Smart city, Vallarpadam, Parsvnath works going on in full swing. These are the projects which are immediately going to start. August 2nd week will be crucial for Kochi because of two factors:-
1) Smart city land agreement to be signed and foundation stone laid
2) Sobha city MOU to be signed.
3) Parsvnath SEZ notification expected any time.

Kochi will be in the league of B'lore, Hyd and Chennai in the next four years. So Kerala will also have a metro city in its true meaning

Originally Posted by ReNik

Hi-tech City ON !!

[Wellwisher]

Originally Posted by ReNik

I do not know the details. But isn't there a fault on the part of Corporation ?
They acquire land just enough to build the plant where they should have acquired 100-200 acres so that there are no squeamish "neighbors".

Correct me if I'm wrong, this happened in Trivandrum too when they were setting
up the plant. Now it looks more or less settled, save minor once in a while whining.

But, Brahmapuram has the additional manipulation by builder lobby. But now it looks like
the plant will come up in 6-7 months.

_________________________________________________________
Renik, you are not wrong.
Whether it is TVM or in Kochi, yes the answer is the city develpment council or the corporation is primarily responsible. We need people with vision and planning. If not, they have to hire consultancy services which they can afford to. For that matter also in other towns and cities such as Thrissur, Palakkad, Kannur, Kozhikode etc. When we talk about the fast developing areas, Kochi and TVM need to move on a much faster phase with no oversights!