How KINFRA Hi-Tech Park Grew in Kalamassery

Ashraf Gents Hostel

Key facts

KINFRA gives KINFRA Hi-Tech Park, Kalamassery, a land area of about 243 acres and 34 units, with a focus on hi-tech, non-polluting industry.
In April 2007 the NeST Group announced an electronic hardware manufacturing park at Kalamassery with KINFRA, with SEZ status and about 10 lakh sq ft planned, Oneindia reported.
The National University of Advanced Legal Studies received its permanent 10-acre campus in the park in 2011, according to Wikipedia.
Kerala Startup Mission’s Integrated Startup Complex, about 1.8 lakh sq ft in a 13.5-acre Technology Innovation Zone, was inaugurated by the Chief Minister on Sunday 13 January 2019, Business Today reported.
KINFRA reported that the park received a FICCI Swachh Industry Park award, presented in November 2024.

Exterior of the Ashraf Gents Hostel building on NAD Road, Kalamassery. See all hostel photos

A park for ‘clean’ industry

Kalamassery’s older industries — the rayons, aluminium, chemical and tyre plants on our mills and factories page — were heavy, wet and often polluting. KINFRA, the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation, was created by the state to develop industrial land with ready infrastructure, and in Kalamassery it set out to attract a different kind of tenant. KINFRA’s own fact file describes the Hi-Tech Park’s ‘thrust sector’ as hi-tech, non-polluting industries.

KINFRA published a ‘KINFRA@30’ brochure in 2022, marking three decades of the corporation. We could not find a reliable year for the opening of the Kalamassery park itself, so we have not given one; KINFRA’s Wikipedia entry and its park page do not state it.

Timeline

Date	What happened	Source
2022 (anniversary)	KINFRA marks 30 years with its ‘KINFRA@30’ brochure	KINFRA
April 2007	NeST announces an electronic hardware park in the Kalamassery park with KINFRA, with SEZ status, about 10 lakh sq ft	Oneindia
2011	NUALS moves to its permanent 10-acre campus in the park	Wikipedia: NUALS
13 January 2019	Integrated Startup Complex inaugurated in the Technology Innovation Zone	Business Today; YourStory
24 January 2020	Super Fab Lab with MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms announced	The Week
November 2024	FICCI Swachh Industry Park award presented to the park	KINFRA
2025	KINFRA brochure lists 243 acres, 34 units, IT/ITES and electronics SEZs, biotech incubation, gem and jewellery park	KINFRA brochure 2025

Electronics and the SEZs

The park’s identity as an electronics location took shape in the 2000s. Oneindia reported in April 2007 that the NeST Group, a Kochi-born electronics company, would set up what it called Kerala’s first electronic hardware park at Kalamassery with KINFRA, with special economic zone status and about 10 lakh sq ft planned. OpenStreetMap today marks a ‘NEST Electronics park’ at the south side of the park; our NeST page covers it.

KINFRA lists both an SEZ for IT and ITES and an SEZ for electronics inside the park, along with a biotechnology incubation centre and a gem and jewellery park. Exact dates for each notification were not in the sources we could open.

A law university arrives

The National University of Advanced Legal Studies began in 2002 as an institute and became a university under a 2005 state Act. Wikipedia records that it received its permanent campus at Kalamassery in 2011, on 10 acres inside the Hi-Tech Park. The arrival of a residential law school changed the park’s daytime population, adding students and faculty to a place built for factories and offices.

The startup era

The biggest change came with Kerala Startup Mission’s Technology Innovation Zone, about 13.5 acres within the park. Business Today reported that the Chief Minister inaugurated its Integrated Startup Complex, about 1.8 lakh sq ft, on the Sunday before 14 January 2019 — that is, 13 January 2019. Inside were Maker Village for hardware startups, BioNest for life sciences, BRIC for cancer-care solutions and BRINC, described as an international hardware accelerator.

In January 2020 The Week reported plans for a Super Fab Lab with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Bits and Atoms, described as the first outside the United States. The longer story of KSUM is on our Kerala Startup Mission history page, and the zone today is explained on the KTIZ page.

Company lists in the park change often. For current tenants and road-by-road directions, see companies on KINFRA Hi-Tech Park Road.

Why it matters near the NAD signal

The park’s northern edge is a short walk or ride from the NAD Road signal, and its growth is one reason this once-quiet corner now has engineers, founders, law students and factory staff looking for rooms. Ashraf Gents Hostel, a men’s hostel at the signal, is one such option; its public profile lists NUALS and the Nippon skill centre among nearby places. The park guide covers working life there today, and the archive hub links the rest of the area’s history.

Frequently asked questions

How big is KINFRA Hi-Tech Park, Kalamassery?

KINFRA gives a land area of about 243 acres with 34 units.

When did the Integrated Startup Complex open?

The Chief Minister inaugurated it on 13 January 2019, according to Business Today’s report the next day.

When did NUALS move into the park?

Wikipedia says the university received its permanent 10-acre campus at Kalamassery in 2011.

When was the park founded?

We could not confirm a founding year from reliable sources, so we have not given one.

What kind of industry is allowed there?

KINFRA describes the focus as hi-tech, non-polluting industry, including IT, electronics and biotechnology.

Sources

Facts about Ashraf Gents Hostel come from the hostel’s own profile and photos; rates are indicative and confirmed on the call. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. How we write these guides: editorial notes. Map embeds © Google.

Cite this guide: Ashraf Gents Hostel. “How KINFRA Hi-Tech Park Grew in Kalamassery.” Published 8 October 2026. https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kinfra-hi-tech-park-history/ Plain-text (Markdown) version · quoting with a link back is welcome.