DEWA GROUP to invest Rs 3,000 crore in 'Dewa Royale', spread across six acres of premium property at the Marine Drive in COCHIN

The world's finest in living spaces. At Marine Drive, Cochin(KOCHI).

Dewa Royale is a premium apartment project coming up on a 6-acre waterfront property at Marine Drive, Kochi. The apartment project itself will be the first stage of a groundbreaking, multi-phase development – including an exclusive shopping mall and a world-class hotel – which the company plans to execute on its 18-acre property at Marine Drive.

DEWA PROJECTSKochi (PTI): Leading real estate and infrastructure development group, Dewa Group is foraying into the real estate sector in Kerala with a Rs 3,000 crore project, which includes a super luxury apartment complex.

The complex 'Dewa Royale', spread across six acres of premium property at the Marine Drive in the city, will be launched on Saturday, Group Chairman K Venugopalan Nair told reporters here on Thursday night.

The group would set new benchmarks for residential space creation in the state in terms of quality of construction and construction material, he said claiming it would be the first apartment venture in the country, which would be providing a 10 year warranty for the entire complex.

The warranty would be applicable for electrical installations, bathing systems and a slew of instruments, which includes even screws used for fixing doors and windows.

The entire project will come up in a 22.5 acres land. The first phase, being built at an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore, will have six towers comprising 400 apartments surrounded by four acres of landscaped garden.

This is expected to be ready by 2011, Nair said adding each apartment would be approximately priced at Rs 3.25 crore.

The project also includes a five star hotel and a convention centre.

Dewa Projects Private ltd is a venture promoted by a group of NRIs based in Kuwait.

The group and its allied companies had substantial real estate holding in the major cities of India, including Bangalore, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, he said.

The Hindu

COCHIN(Kochi ) Duty Free Shop wins best Indian retailer award

Kochi wins best Indian retailer award

CIAL has the best duty free shop

Press Trust of India / Kochi April 24, 2008



The Cochin Duty Free shop at the Nedumbassery airport has won the 'Best Indian Duty Free Retailer' for 2007-08 from among 11 international duty free shops in India.



The award, conferred by the UK-based Mars International Travel Retail (MITR), would be received at the Tax Free World Association (TFWA) asia pacific retail conference at Singapore on May 13, CIAL Managing Director S Bharat said at a function at the Cochin Duty Free yesterday.


The Cochin Duty Free shop at the Nedumbassery airport here, which accounts for 30 per cent of CIAL's annual revenue, has registered a 44 per cent growth in revenue in 2007-08, netting Rs 42 crore turnover against the previous year's Rs 32 crore, he said.


An additional 5,000 square feet of duty free shop space would be added at CIAL's new international arrival terminal getting completed soon, he said.


Many promotional schemes launched by the Duty Free had helped boost its sales, of which foreign liquor accounted for a major chunk, he added.


Business Standard

Volvo Ocean Race: A big opportunity for business community in COCHIN

KOCHI: The Kochi stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race will offer a big opportunity for the business community, especially the tourism sector, said N Ramachandran, chairman of the Cochin Port.

He was making a presentation at the discussion session on `Volvo Ocean Race- Business Opportunities’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) on Friday.

“CEOs and other top business leaders of sponsor brands visit the stopover ports to witness the race and cheer up their team. Ericsson, one of the major sponsors of the race, alone will bring a 500- member team of corporate guests.

The corporate world will be looking to Kochi during the days of stopover. In addition to the global exposure, the race provides a platform for the business community to interact with the leaders of major brands and networking,” the chairman said.

Since the race is being held with international standards, we have to arrange all infrastructure here, he said.

“It is expected that around 5,000 hotel rooms will be needed during the days of the race. At present we don’t have this capacity. It is expected that this shortage can be filled by using houseboats and by setting up more homestays. Restaurants and eateries are another sector.

Since the people roaming with the race are capable of high spending, restaurants with good amenities have to be set up. In addition to this, there will be various programmes such as food festivals, exhibitions, cultural and entertainment programmes,” Ramachandran said.

He said that the facilities at the Willingdon Island would be upgraded. During the discussion, there were suggestions that `Keep Kochi and Backwaters Clean’ would be the theme of the event.
NEW INDIAN EXPRESS.COM

Muthoot Technopolis: A model that clicks

A project wherein the private sector set up IT infrastructure in a Government-operated Special Economic Zone could be a trendsetter, say the developers.


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C. J. Punnathara


A novel experiment at setting up IT infrastructure by the private sector in a Government-operated Special Economic Zone has proved to be a resounding success.

“Within six to seven months of completing the project, all the 3.5 lakh sq.ft area at the Muthoot Technopolis found occupancy. But what is even more heartening about the whole project is that clients who had already occupied space are clamouring for more,” Mr George Muthoot, Managing Director of Muthoot Pappachan Group, says.

The uniqueness of the project lies in the fact that it came up in the government-run multi-speciality Cochin Special Economic Zone and was the first of its kind in a government-run SEZ, he adds. The project, started in 2004, was completed in 20 months. Muthoot Technopolis today houses some of the country’s top IT majors, such as Cognizant, Sutherland and Wipro. The availability of state-of-the-art facility was a major draw for Sutherland and Cognizant to make their maiden foray into Kerala, according to Mr Muthoot.

There are tremendous advantages to setting up such infrastructure in a SEZ — the cost of construction dips by 20-30 per cent on account of the reduced taxes on common building materials such as cement and steel. And the company has passed on these cost advantage to the clients, Mr Muthoot says. Sadly, constraint of space is already blocking expansion possibilities at CEPZ.

Advantage clients


The advantages to clients arise from other avenues as well. “With around 80 engineering colleges in and around Kochi, the city is indeed a rich reservoir of entry-level talent. While the availability of mid-level and high-level talent continues to pose a challenge, we see a growing number of Keralites increasingly keen to return to the State and settle down in a fast-growing city like Kochi, which is highly cosmopolitan, well-connected nationally and internationally, and offers a great standard of living. The attrition rate here is low. In addition, by virtue of Kochi being a landing point in India for the submarine cable, connectivity is good and is a major marketing advantage for IT companies operating out of here,” Mr T.P. Vincent, Assistant Vice-President and Head of Kochi Operations of Cognizant, says.

Tapping into places offering a good talent pool and creating opportunities for broad-based and diversified growth have always been an important part of Cognizant’s growth strategy, say company sources. Because of its educational infrastructure, the availability of skilled resources, and favourable real-estate options, Kochi has become an ideal destination for IT companies looking to enhance their return on investment.

More importantly, “expanding our presence across smaller towns helps us become more inclusive and take the benefits of our growth to more people,” the sources said.

Mr Vincent adds, “We are happy with our experience in Kochi.” The response time from government officials and the support offered by the Cochin Special Economic Process Zone (CSEZ) authorities have been a big support, he says.

Muthoot Technopolis offers the best of plug-and-play facilities and a secure environment. Such infrastructural and location advantages have prompted majors such as Larsen and Toubro to set up similar facilities in Kochi, he says.

The Hindu Business Line

New Cochin Housing Project

COCHIN(KOCHI): APPLE a Day properties have launched a new project, `New Cochin: The real metro.’ Spread over 54 acres of land just 20 km from Vyttila and 12 km from Aroor NH bypass,New Cochin will be a waterfront residential township that boasts of 6-m wide roads and more than 100 common amenities, including shopping centres, indoor stadium, modern security systems, health club, centralised gas supply etc.

Residential plots of 5 and 10 cents are ready for sale at Rs 5 and Rs 15 lakh respectively. In the first phase of the project, New Cochin will also feature state-of-the-art villas and studios. The second phase will have 1,2 and 3 bedroom apartments. The project will be complete in the third phase with added attractions like commercial area, business centres and service apartments.

NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

Smart City project at COCHIN promoted at Outsource World London

The proposed Rs.15-billion Smart City project at Kochi had its first marketing event at Outsource World London, a premier business trade platform, the company said here Friday. Outsource World London brought top executives, who are looking to outsource business services, face-to-face with exhibitors. The expo was held in London Wednesday and Thursday.

“Our participation served to raise awareness and interest about Smart City among local, regional and international audiences and at the same time engage stakeholders. This will further enhance credibility and awareness of Smart City locations,” a company press release said.

It added that Fareed Abdulrahman, CEO of Smart City and a board member of Smart City, Malta and Smart City, Kochi, made a presentation.

Smart City is based on the successful models of Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Dubai Knowledge Village and provides state-of-the-art infrastructure, environment and support systems that promote the growth of knowledge-based companies.

Smart City hopes to create a global network to assist companies to tap into various markets, opportunities and talent.

Work on the project at Kochi, being built by Dubai Internet City, is to begin in October.

Smart City Kochi will offer a host of business support services as well as residential, hospitality, retail and recreational facilities. The project has an employment generation potential of over 90,000 jobs.

The project was cleared last May, nearly three years after it was first mooted. When complete, it would have 8.8 million square feet of building, of which 70 percent would be for IT and IT-enabled services.

Thai Indian News

Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) are churning the oceans for Disease fighting drugs

By KUMAR CHELLAPPAN

Chennai, April 17: Mythology speaks about devas (Gods) and asuras (devils) churning the sea for amrit that will give them immortality.

Today, scientists at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) are churning the oceans for drugs capable of fighting many terminal diseases, including HIV and cancer.

"The sea is a treasure house of healing," says Prof. Muthusamy Chandrasekaran, the Cuddalore-born bio-technologist at Cusat. Impressed by the systematic research done by Prof. Chandrasekaran and his team of young researchers, the ministry of earth sciences has approved a project for exploring the oceans for new drugs, in collaboration with the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) of the ministry.

"Watch out. You are in for big surprises. The next two to three decades will certainly be an era of marine biotechnology. We will rule the pharma world," says Prof. Chandrsekaran.

The professor has reasons to be elated. Samples of microbes, organisms, invertebrates and sponges collected by Sagar Sampada, the ministry’s 72-foot-long fisheries oceanographic research vessel (FORV), were tested at the hi-tech labs of Cusat. "We have found that the bio-active compounds extracted from these organisms have anti-cancer, anti-viral and anti-depressant characteristics. Firm conclusions will be arrived at once their structural studies are completed," says Dr Soorej M. Basheer, a leading member of the research team.

Instructed by the ministry, Cuddalore-based Centre for Advanced Studies in Marine Biology (CASMB) has also been conducting research for developing drugs from the sea.

The scientist team led by director Dr T. Balasubramanian has already succeeded in extracting heparin from mollusc found along the east coast. Arguing that the sea is richer in bio-diversity than the earth environment, he says anti-cancer drugs have been isolated from toxic blue-green algae found in the South Pacific Ocean.

HOWRAH.ORG

SmartCity Kochi inducts two new Board Members

KOCHI, Kerala: SmartCity Kochi, a self-sustained township for knowledge-based industry here, held its first meeting of the Board of Directors.



Speaking to mediapersons after the meeting, Kerala Fisheries and Registration Minister S Sarma, who is also the Chairman of SmartCity Kochi project, said the construction work of the project will start in October end.

He said four firms were short listed after calling global tenders for the master planners. Negotiations with two firms were in progress for the project, he said.

The signing of the lease agreement for an additional 11.79 acres land was not done today, he said.

Recently the Board for Approval for SEZ at the Centre had accorded SEZ status for 136 acres of land for the project. Necesary steps have already been initiated to obtain the formal SEZ status for the remaining 100 acres of land, which had accorded the SEZ status in principle by the Board.

The Board has also decided to induct Anirudha Damkey, Director of Finance TECOM Investments and Dr Ajay Kumar, Secretary, Information Technology, Department, Kerala, as Board Members of SmartCity Kochi, he said. MORE PTI TKK SmartCity Kochi, to be developed by Dubai-based SmartCity, the joint venture company promoted by TECOM Investments and Sama Dubai, in partnership with the Government of Kerala, will be one of India's largest business parks. The project has an employment generation potential of over 90,000 jobs.
Kerala Next.com

Hi-tech parks power COCHIN( Kochi’s) metromorphosis

VISMAYA
HI-TECH parks are powering Kochi’s industrial development. Starting from the Rs 2,400 a Smart City Project, which the state government approved on Wednesday, the city would see the launch of more than half a dozen industrial infrastructure parks in the coming months.

The state government and the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority are expected to ink the pact for Smart City project in a few days.

The Smart City Project, by facilitating the growth of IT industries, would create dose to 90,000 jobs within a few years. Another hi-tech city project is being planned by the Shobha Group over4p0 acres in Kochi.

The Rs 5,000-crore project would provide facilities for knowledge-based industries. The self-sufficient city will have a residential section, shopping malls and even a green belt. Meanwhile, the government-owned Infopark is in it’s final stage of development as it has already used up most of its land.

Infopaxk’s own buildings, the 1.25 lakh sq ft Tapasya and 2.5 lakh sq ft Vismaya have been completed. A third one with 4 lakh sq ft is under construction.

Infopark’s co-developer Leela Group has started work on a 3.3 lakh sq ft project after completing a 1.25 lakh sq ft build­ing. The other co-developer L & T has started work on a 3.5 lakh sq ft project. Wipro, TCS and IBS are the companies that are developing own campuses in Infopark.

Source: The Economic Times
Property Bytes

SMART CITY COCHIN INDIA (Construction work will commence in 6 months)

Two consultants short-listed



Staff Reporter



To prepare master plan for Smart City project in Kochi






KOCHI: Giving impetus to the proposed Smart City project, a director board meeting of the company here on Wednesday short-listed two consultants for drawing up a master plan for the project. The names of the consultants would be announced as soon as the formalities in this regard are over.

“The short-listing of master planners for SmartCity Kochi is a defining step towards our commitment to the fulfilment of the project. The master plan will focus on creating complete business and community infrastructure keeping in mind the requirements of high-quality work environment for knowledge-based industries and the experience of a rich community lifestyle for its workers,” Fareed Abdulrahman, Chief Executive Officer of SmartCity, said.

Lease agreement


The company had received proposals from four national and international players for preparing the master plan last year.

Though the lease agreement for the remaining 12 acres, which were excluded from the lease deed signed last November owing to the presence of inhabitants, was to be signed on Wednesday, it did not materialise.

New directors


The meeting inducted into the board as directors Anirudha Damkey, Director of Finance, Tecom Investments, and Ajay Kumar, Secretary, State Information Technology.

The company has taken steps for securing the Special Economic Zone status for the remaining 100 acres. In addition to this, efforts are being made to obtain another 167 acres for future development of the project.

The Board decided to participate in the forthcoming OutsourceWorld Exhibition in London to promote Kochi as a major centre of Information Technology and IT Enabled Services. Kochi will be showcased to the world as a hub for knowledge-based excellence.

The Hindu

India: Jewelry Spurs Rise in Exports at Cochin SEZ

By Avi Krawitz Posted: 04/06/08 07:27


RAPAPORT... India's gem and jewelry products were the main catalyst for the sharp rise in exports from the Cochin Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) in the year ending March 31, 2008.

The CSEZ’s export earnings more than tripled to INR 4,652 crore ($1.16 billion) in the fiscal year 2007-08, from INR 1,037.52 ($259.54 million) the previous year.

According to local media reports, CSEZ Development Commissioner C J Mathew said gem and jewelry exports accounted for approximately 77 percent of the total at INR 3,600 ($900.56 million.)

The CSEZ, which initially emphasized areas such as rubber and rubber products exports and electronics hardware, is designed to facilitate foreign direct investment and is run by the government of India.


RAPAPORT
Information that means Business

CSEZ achieves 70 per cent growth in exports

COCHIN(Kochi): The Cochin Special Economic Zone has registered a 70 per cent growth in exports during 2007-08, while its earnings stood at Rs 4,652 crore as against Rs 1037.52 crore in the previous year.

The earnings were mostly from gems and jewellery exports, which touched Rs 3,600 crore, CSEZ Development Commissioner C J Mathew told a press meet here.

At present, there are 119 units in the zone of which 101 are in operation and remaining 18 units are under various stages of implementation. The units in the zone manufacture a wide range of products in various sectors like software, electronics, textiles, engineering, ceramic and food, he said.

MNCs like Tyco, Baird McNutt and Indian groups like Hindustan Lever, Tatas, AVT, Leela and Nest have set up their units in the zone. CSEZ has opened its doors to a British company M/s Magnum Aviation for the manufacture of aircraft engines and components.

The zone is also the largest employment destination in the state giving jobs to around 11,358 persons, including 5,034 women.

The 63 Export Oriented Units (EOUs) in Kerala, 526 in Karnataka, one in Lakshadweep come under the CSEZ's jurisdiction. EOUs in Kerala recorded exports of Rs 1,079.76 crore during 2006-07 and EOUs in Karnataka recorded exports of rs 17,656.11 during 2006-07, he said.

Notifications have been issued for 20 SEZs in Karnataka, including 13 in IT/ITeS sector and eight in Kerala.
Economic Times/ India Times

State-of-the-art airport in Cochin

NOT A FLIGHT OF FANCY: The Cochin International Airport is all set to change the way one looks at civil aviation.



Cochin: There is good news for travellers who put up with the daily hassles of international airports in India. The Cochin International Airport, the country's first joint public-private venture in civil aviation, is close to setting a benchmark.


The airport will soon emerge as India's first airport township with an investment of just Rs 300 crore.


“The government is there to give the policy support. The delays of red-tapism and bureaucratic functioning are not here. So, decisions are taken quickly. This is something which you won’t find in any other airport in the country,” MD, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), S Bharath says.


Ten years down the line, the airport will have 18 different sub-projects including, a 6.4 crore IT park, a golf course, a perishable cargo unit, half a dozen five-star hotels and an aviation academy spread out over 1,300 acres of land.

And to top it all, there's going to be a state-of-the-art maintenance and hanger unit exclusively for Airbus 380.


This airport township will be funded by Kerala NRIs, the state government and other financial institutions. Not only will this be the first of its kind in the country, the project will also have a huge employment potential.


“The idea is to capitalise on Kerala's strengths. Employment generation is the key and with the state having such a huge human resource potential it will not be a problem. Instead of people going all the way to the Gulf to find a job let’s have viable employment here,” Bharath says.


The CIAL success story has already become a case study for professionals at the Harvard School of Economics. The Sri Lankan government has also approached CIAL to replicate the Cochin model for them.


Having made a huge successful economic model, the CIAL with its new value added services hopes to make this airport the gateway to Kerala. With plans for an airport township already in place, the Cochin International Airport is all set to change the way one looks at civil aviation in the country.

IBN NEWS
VIDEO LINK

Dubai group to set up ‘MedCity’ in COCHIN( Kochi)

Dr Moopen ... new health facility
Published: Tuesday, 1 April, 2008, 02:13 AM Doha Time
By Ashraf Padanna
KOCHI: The Dubai-based Dr Moopen’s Group has announced plans to set up ‘MedCity’, a complex of hospitals and allied services spread over 30 acres in the Kerala port city of Kochi, targeting a growing number of medical tourists to the southern state.
“We hope to start construction on the Rs15bn project within six months. With 2.5mn sq ft built-up area, the MediCity will have a large 500-bed anchor hospital as the fulcrum and around it some ten smaller hospitals of 100 to 200 beds for specialties in a spacious well-laid master-planned campus,” group’s chairman Dr Azad Moopen said.
The group, which hopes to complete the first phase by 2010, has sought speedy clearance from the state government.
“The availability of comprehensive international quality healthcare in the state will elevate Kerala to a higher pedestal in delivery of advanced hi-tech treatment,” Moopen said yesterday.
The group has set up its Indian arm called DM Healthcare Ltd with India Value Fund Advisers as a strategic partner for the MedCity. About one-third of the investments will come from DM Healthcare while the remaining will be from national and international healthcare operators who will also bring in expertise and technology.
“We have already acquired about 20 acres of land near the Airport-Seaport road and are looking for another ten acres. We are also in talks with major players in India and abroad to run the specialty hospitals in the MedCity,” he said.
The project is expected to generate 15,000 jobs for doctors, nursing and paramedical staff.
Kerala, which is already attracting some 100,000 overseas medical tourists a year, hopes to increase the number to 500,000 by 2012.
“We are already receiving a very good flow of tourists for ayurveda wellness treatment but have not taken off well in illness-related health tourism. The MedCity will act as a catalyst to start this flow and Kochi is expected to become a gateway for medical tourists to the country,” he said.
“Patients from the Middle East, Europe and the US and the rest of the world will start flowing into Kerala once there is a facility available because of the huge cost advantage.”
The group, which registered a turnover of Rs5bn last year, has a network of about 50 establishments in the Gulf, including two hospitals, clinics and pharmacies. It also runs the Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) in Kozhikode and another 300-bed hospital is expected to open at nearby Kottakkal in six months.
The group was also looking at acquiring three hospitals in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra this year.
GULF TIMES