Kochi: A third building complex of the World Trade Centre (WTC) at Infopark Kochi Phase-1 is set to come up, as real-estate firm Brigade Enterprises entered into a pact on Wednesday with the IT hub based in Kochi.
The land lease agreement was signed at a ceremony in Thiruvananthapuram in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Minister for Law, Industries and Coir P Rajeeve, Chief Secratrary V Venu ,IAS IT Secretary Rathan U Kelkar, Infopark CEO Susanth Kurunthil, Bangalore-based Brigade Group Executive Chairman M R Jaishankar, Joint Managing Director Nirupa Shankar and Infopark officials.
The Rs 150-crore project will be executed by Brigade Group in association with WTC. The 16-storey tower, with a car-park of six decks, will come up on non-SEZ plot with a built-up space of 2.6 lakh square feet. WTC 3 will generate around 2700 direct jobs. The project is expected to complete in three years.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 583 new companies have set up offices in Infopark since 2016, generating around 70,000 jobs. “The coming up of the third tower of WTC will augment the development of not just Infopark, but the entire IT sector in the state,” he noted.
Susanth Kurunthil, while speaking of an increasing demand for non-SEZ building, said the new building can meet the requirements of prospective entrepreneurs. “The workspace will be a major attraction for big companies,” he added.
Jaishankar of Brigade Group said, “We are happy to increase our footprint in Kerala with a new tower of WTC for the growing IT and IT-enabled service companies in the State. Brigade is keen to expand in Kerala and we will continue to look for viable land parcels.”
Currently, Infopark Kochi has two WTC towers completed by Brigade Group. With a combined built-up area of 7.7 lakh sq.ft, the buildings are fully occupied. The A and B blocks of WTC, with a Grade A specification and LEED Gold certification, house 37 companies and 8,000 employees in total. They include MNCs such as KPMG, IBM, UST Global, Xerox, G10X, MindCurv, Williams Lea and Aspire. Brigade has been the builder of the luxury business hotel Four Points by Sheraton Kochi Infopark, which is situated in Infopark Phase 1.
The coming up of WTC-3 in Infopark can bring in more companies and bolster employment.
Furthermore, the company is developing Brigade Square in Thiruvananthapuram, a Grade A office building located in Technopark Phase 1.
Brigade Group is the license owner of six WTCs in South India – Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Trivandrum and Devanahalli. Over the last 38 years, the Brigade Group has completed around 300 buildings and 90 mn sq ft across its diverse portfolio.