TECOM Investments and Kerala Government hold positive talks on SmartCity

Following the discussions, TECOM Investments has outlined its position on the issues in a letter to the Chief Minister of Kerala in an effort to accelerate the project, which has been under discussion for two years.

Fareed Abdulrahman, Executive Director of TECOM International, part of TECOM Investments, said: "We had a very positive round of talks during which, we discussed the entire range of issues related to the SmartCity project. We have conveyed our position on key aspects of the project to the Kerala Government and hope that we will be able to reach a clear understanding on taking the SmartCity project forward."

TECOM Investments' officials said they are now looking forward to an official reply from the Chief Minister of Kerala.

Talks on the SmartCity project started in 2004 after TECOM Investments submitted a proposal to the Government of Kerala on setting up a business campus for knowledge-based industries in the city of Kochi. The business campus was aimed at tapping Kochi's potential to develop into a hub for knowledge-related industries like IT, media and biotechnology.

Abdullatif Al Mulla, CEO of TECOM Investments received the Kerala Government delegation in Dubai Internet City. The delegation was led by Sheela Thomas, Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister of Kerala and included PG Tensing, Secretary of Information Technology and K Suresh, Additional Secretary to the Chief Minister of Kerala. In addition to Abdulrahman, Deepak Padmanabhan, Chief Planning and Business Development Officer, TECOM Investments also took part in the talks.

As part of its strategic international expansion, TECOM Investments is seeking to create a global network of knowledge-industry business campuses. The SmartCity in Kochi would be a key part of this network.