Work on Smart City to begin on September 29

KOCHI: The work on the Smart City project will begin on September 29. The decision was taken by the Smart City Project Monitoring Committee in Dubai on Sunday, one of the Managing Directors of Smart City Baju George told ‘Express’. The work on the headquarters would begin on November 19, he said.This is the second meeting of the committee, which was formed to ensure implementation of the project in a time-bound manner.The meeting also appointed Chief Minister Oommen Chandy as the Chief Patron of the Kochi project, he said. Excise Minister K Babu and businessman M A Yousuf Ali of EMKE Group were nominated as honorary members of the project, George said.The meeting has decided to complete the project as planned, he said.There are clearances pending with the government pertaining to the environment and allocation of SEZ status to around 100 acres of land, he said.These clearances would, hopefully, be considered soon. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said that the Smart City project will be implemented in a  time-bound manner.The implementation of the project would be a leaping step towards the state’s development, Chandy said.“As the state is gearing up for ‘Emerging Kerala 2012’ to maintain its image of an investment-friendly destination, the Smart City project is a good beginning,” he said.The project will be a step forward for the development initiatives of the state, Chandy said. This would help in projecting before the world that the developmental projects of the state would complete in time.