We will be ready to catch the next IT boom, says SmartCity-Kochi CEO

KOCHI: Manoj Nair, CEO of SmartCity (Kochi) Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, believes the information technology sector's next boom cycle will happen in the next two or three years. And the 246-acre IT Special Economic Zone at Kakkanad will be poised to take advantage of the situation by providing six million sq ft of IT space.

While the Bengaluru-based Prestige Group launched the construction of two IT towers on an eight-acre space to build 12 lakh sq ft of space on Wednesday, the construction of twin-towers by Lulu Group's Sands Infra for 37 lakh sq ft space is fast progressing and is expected to be over by 2021. The Gems International School, which is also located within the SmartCity, has begun admission for the new academic year.
IT is a cyclical industry and the next big boom can come by 2021, he said, when asked about the slowdown in the IT services industry. "We will be ready when the next growth cycle happens," he told 'Express'.

Over the past six months, since he took over SmartCity-Kochi (first as COO in September and later as CEO in January), Nair said he has been able to bring the IT SEZ back to life."We don't want to look back. We want to look ahead," he said. Things are back on track after some "perception" issues, he said.
Regarding complaints of lack of sufficient capacity at the food court, he said more food courts will be opened in future if there's enough demand. The SmartCity (Kochi) is also in continuous discussions with the District Collector, Kochi Metro Rail and others regarding metro rail connectivity, uninterrupted power and water supply etc for the township which will also have residential, healthcare and entertainment facilities.

He said Ernst & Young has taken a 45,000 sq ft space with 45 car parking space, explaining the facilities provided by SmartCity-Kochi.Prestige Group is developing its two IT towers at an investment of Rs 300 crore.The project, which is expected to be completed in 2.5 years, will create over 10,000 jobs when fully occupied.The company, having IT towers in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, has clients such as JP Morgan Chase, Oracle, Nokia and Airtel.