# SmartCity Kochi: The Project’s Long Journey > SmartCity Kochi was meant to be a Dubai-backed IT township on 246 acres at Kakkanad. After years of disputes it opened its first tower in 2016, but by 2024 it had delivered far fewer jobs than promised, and on 4 December 2024 the Kerala cabinet decided to take back the land and end the arrangement with TECOM. This page sets out the dated record as of October 2026. - URL: https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/smartcity-kochi-history/ - Publisher: Ashraf Gents Hostel, Ashraf house, NAD Rd, signal, Kalamassery, Aluva, Kerala 683563, India (+91 90746 23855) - Published: 2026-10-08 · Updated: 2026-10-08 - Topic: History & archive - Cite as: Ashraf Gents Hostel. “SmartCity Kochi: The Project’s Long Journey.” Published 8 October 2026. https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/smartcity-kochi-history/ ## Key facts - The Government of Kerala and TECOM Investments, part of Dubai Holding, signed the SmartCity Kochi framework agreement on 13 May 2007 (Wikipedia). - Chief Minister Oommen Chandy launched construction on 8 October 2011, and Phase 1, including the 650,000 sq ft SCK-01 tower, was inaugurated on 20 February 2016 (Wikipedia). - The project company was owned 84 per cent by Dubai Holding and 16 per cent by the Government of Kerala, on a 246-acre site (Wikipedia; Onmanorama). - On 4 December 2024 the Kerala cabinet decided to reclaim the 246 acres and set up a committee to settle TECOM’s exit, Onmanorama reported. ## The idea SmartCity Kochi grew from talks in 2004–05 between the Kerala government and Dubai’s TECOM, the company behind Dubai Internet City. Wikipedia credits the initiative to the then IT minister P. K. Kunhalikutty under the UDF government, with a memorandum of understanding signed in 2005 under Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The plan placed the township next to the state’s existing Infopark at Kakkanad, with a promise of a very large number of jobs. After the 2006 change of government, a revised framework agreement was signed on **13 May 2007** under Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan. Under that agreement the land was leased to a joint venture, Smart City (Kochi) Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, in which Dubai Holding held **84 per cent** and the state **16 per cent**. The site was **246 acres**, the agreement envisaged at least 8.8 million sq ft of built space and investment of about ₹2,000 crore, and the project was expected to create around **90,000 jobs** (Wikipedia; Onmanorama). ## Timeline | Date | What happened | Source | |---|---|---| | 2005 | MoU signed between Kerala and TECOM | Wikipedia | | 13 May 2007 | Revised framework agreement signed with TECOM | Wikipedia | | 2007–2011 | Project stalls over disputes, including freehold land | Wikipedia | | 2 February 2011 | Disputes resolved at a meeting with Dubai Holding | Wikipedia | | 8 October 2011 | Construction launched by CM Oommen Chandy | Wikipedia | | December 2011 | Single SEZ status granted for the 246 acres | Wikipedia | | 9 June 2012 | SmartCity Experience Pavilion opened | Wikipedia | | 20 February 2016 | Phase 1 and SCK-01 tower inaugurated | Wikipedia | | 4 December 2024 | Cabinet decides to reclaim land and end the project with TECOM | Onmanorama | | 6–10 December 2024 | Ministers say TECOM will get repayment of its equity/lease premium, not compensation | Onmanorama | ## Four years of deadlock From 2007 to 2011 the project barely moved. Wikipedia says the main sticking point was TECOM’s demand for sale rights over about 12 per cent of the land as freehold, which the state resisted. The dispute was settled at a meeting between Chief Minister Achuthanandan and Dubai Holding representatives on **2 February 2011**. After the May 2011 election, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy launched construction on **8 October 2011**, and the central government granted single SEZ status for the whole site that December. ## The first tower and slow growth Phase 1 was inaugurated on **20 February 2016**, including the 650,000 sq ft **SCK-01** tower, and began operating in May 2016. Over the next years other buildings came up on plots allotted to co-developers, including a school (2019), office buildings in 2021–22 and a large IT complex built by the Lulu Group, listed by Wikipedia as commissioned in 2025. As of 2021, Wikipedia says, about 50 companies employed close to 5,000 people on the site. That was a small fraction of the jobs promised. Onmanorama reported in December 2024 that the company had not reached even one-third of the jobs target and that TECOM itself had expressed willingness to withdraw. ## The 2024 decision On **4 December 2024** the state cabinet decided to take back the 246 acres allotted to TECOM and to set up a committee to work out the terms of its exit, Onmanorama reported. The opposition questioned paying the company anything. Industries and Law Minister P. Rajeev said TECOM would not get “compensation”, only the value of its investment as verified by an independent valuer. On 10 December 2024, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the payment was a settlement under clause 7.2.2 of the agreement, covering the lease premium of ₹91.52 crore and infrastructure spending, chosen on the Advocate General’s advice to avoid arbitration (Onmanorama). > We have not found a verified report of the final settlement amount or of what the state has done with the land since. As of October 2026, treat any figure you see for the payout as unconfirmed unless it cites an official order. ## Why SmartCity matters to Kalamassery SmartCity and Infopark sit side by side at Kakkanad, a short ride east of Kalamassery along the Seaport–Airport Road. When SmartCity was announced, people expected tens of thousands of jobs to spill into nearby towns. The slow build is part of why Kalamassery’s own growth leaned more on industry, [KINFRA’s Hi-Tech Park](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kinfra-hi-tech-park-history/) and the [startup campus](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kerala-startup-mission-kalamassery-history/) than on SmartCity. Compare the story of [Infopark](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/infopark-kochi-history/) and today’s [commute to Kakkanad](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/infopark-kakkanad-commute-from-kalamassery/). ## Living near the NAD signal today For anyone weighing a job at Kakkanad, the SmartCity story is a reminder to judge a campus by the offices that actually exist rather than the brochures. Men working on that side of the city often pick cheaper rooms around Kalamassery, such as [Ashraf Gents Hostel](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/) on NAD Road, and check [Kakkanad vs Kalamassery](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kakkanad-vs-kalamassery/) before deciding. More archive pages are in the [Kalamassery history archive](https://ashrafgentspghostel.adserr.com/kalamassery-history-archive/). ## Frequently asked questions **What was SmartCity Kochi?** A planned IT township on 246 acres at Kakkanad, developed by a joint venture of Dubai Holding’s TECOM (84 per cent) and the Kerala government (16 per cent). **When did SmartCity Kochi open?** Its Phase 1, including the SCK-01 tower, was inaugurated on 20 February 2016 and began operations in May 2016. **What did the Kerala government decide in 2024?** On 4 December 2024 the cabinet decided to reclaim the 246 acres and end the project with TECOM, setting up a committee to settle the exit terms. **Did TECOM get compensation?** Ministers said in December 2024 that TECOM would receive the value of its equity or lease premium and infrastructure costs, not compensation. We have not confirmed the final amount. **How many jobs did SmartCity create?** Wikipedia reported about 5,000 employees in about 50 companies as of 2021, against a promise of around 90,000 jobs. ## Sources - [Wikipedia: SmartCity Kochi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SmartCity_Kochi) - [Onmanorama: Kochi smart city project: Govt to reclaim land allotted to Tecom (4 Dec 2024)](https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2024/12/04/kochi-smart-city-project-govt-to-cancel-project.html) - [Onmanorama: Not compensation, Tecom will only get equity share, says minister Rajeev (6 Dec 2024)](https://onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2024/12/06/smartcity-kochi-project-minister-rajeeve-rubbishes-reports-on-compensation-to-tecom.html) - [Onmanorama: SmartCity: Payment to TECOM is share settlement, says CM (10 Dec 2024)](https://www.onmanorama.com/kerala/top-news/2024/12/10/smart-city-payment-tecom-compensation-repaying-value-shares-pinarayi-vijayan-cheif-minister.html) - [Arabian Business: Dubai Holding arm TECOM to exit from SmartCity Kochi project](https://www.arabianbusiness.com/south-asia/dubai-holding-arm-tecom-to-exit-from-smartcity-kochi-project) --- Facts about Ashraf Gents Hostel come from the hostel’s own profile, photos and Google Site; rates are indicative and confirmed on the call. 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