SmartCity Kochi has missed yet another deadline. This time the Dubai-based promoters of the project has failed to comply with the deadline, not once but twice, set for the completion of its state-of-the-art pavilion on the project site.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had declared at the launch of the construction work of the pavilion on October 8 last year that it would be completed within 14 weeks, going by which, it should have turned operational in January.
Failing to meet that deadline, the promoters set the first week of May as a fresh deadline only to come up with a revised date of June 9 for the opening of the pavilion.
Baju George, Managing Director SmartCity (India), on Wednesday expressed optimism that the pavilion will indeed be opened on June 9 at 9 a.m.
For a project originally conceived in 2005 and for which the foundation stone was laid in November 2007, SmartCity Kochi has never really managed to keep up with deadlines for a variety of reasons. When it is fully complted its is expected to provide 90000 smartcity jobs .
The delay in the completion of the pavilion meant that the schedule set for the completion of the first phase of the project and promotional campaigns to woo prospective investors also got disrupted.
Initially, it was declared that the first phase will be completed within 20 months from the date of completion of the pavilion.
The delay of almost five months in the completion of the pavilion will have a cascading effect on other schedules as well. With no clarity on when its own promotional road shows could be launched, SmartCity has now decided to piggyback on the campaigns being organised by the Stat government for the “Emerging Kerala” meet to be held in September.