<div>South Indian state Kerala's ambitious IT business township project SmartCity Kochi (SCK) will soon be a reality.</div><div> </div><div>The entire project, covering 246 acres, has received the mandatory environmental clearance, a top official said.</div><div> </div><div>The clearance was given at a meeting of State Environment Impact Assessment Authority Kerala (SEIAA-K) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests followed by the State Expert Appraisal Committee's (SEAC) recommendations, he said.</div><div> </div><div>"For the first IT building-SCK01, we had received the environmental clearance in July 2013 and later we applied for the rest of the project, which has been cleared now," Gigo Joseph, CEO, SCK said.</div><div> </div><div>The 6.5 lakh square feet building is fast nearing completion.</div><div> </div><div>"Of own developments, construction of SCK01's seven-story structure is in an advanced stage of completion and as announced in the Director's Board meeting held in Abu Dhabi, the building is expected to be inaugurated in March 2015," Gigo Joseph said.</div><div> </div><div>Once complete, the building is aimed to be one of the largest LEED Platinum-rated IT buildings in India, as well as all of the forthcoming structures coming up here are being developed as environment friendly.</div><div> </div><div>SCK has also entered into agreements for joint developments with leading IT, hospitality, realty and education companies, to make the hub coming up here an integrated township with facilities for stay, work and play, sources added.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Delegation From Japan</strong></div><div>Meanwhile, a 40-member Japanese business delegation will be on a three-day visit to Kerala from November six to identify areas of cooperation with the state, including Kochi.</div><div> </div><div>Said to be the biggest ever visit by officials from any country to the state, the event is being organised by Sanin India Association of Japan in association with Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce Kerala (Injack).</div><div> </div><div>Five mayors - Masataka Matsuura, Yasuo Nozaka, Hideto Nagaoka, Hiroki Kondo and Katsugi Nakamura - from the two provinces of Tottri and Shimana are among the delegates.</div><div> </div><div>The areas of interest for the delegation are fisheries and marine products, medical tourism, healthcare and IT, said Tomofumi Fukamiya, First Secretary in the Japanese Embassy.</div><div> </div><div>(PTI)</div>
