Work on KSHB mega project at Marine Drive in Kochi to begin soon after Cabinet approval  

NBCC India Limited which recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kerala State Housing Board for the development of 17.9 acres at Marine Drive owned by the board can begin work on the project as soon as the State Cabinet approves it. NBCC is a public sector company under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The prestigious housing board project at Marine Drive has been pending for a while. The project for an international exhibition city was announced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram on June 20, 2019. It was announced in the State Budget for 2019-20. According to the proposals then, the project was to include a world-class exhibition zone, hotel zones, eco-friendly tourism zone, and event zones.

The latest proposal for the Marine Drive project is now before the State government. Once approval is received, there will be no delay for the work to begin, sources in the board said on Saturday. It is estimated that the project involves an investment of approximately ₹2,000 crore.

An MoU for what will be the board’s biggest project so far was singed by B. Abdul Nassar, KSHB secretary, and NBCC chief general manager Pradeep Sharma in the presence of NBCC director (commercial) K.P.M. Swamy and Tinku Biswal, Principal Secretary, Housing and Revenue, Government of Kerala.

Meanwhile, officials of NBCC and the housing board jointly inspected the Marine Drive site on Friday as part of preparing the detailed project report (DPR), KSHB sources said.

They added that the location of the site, its scenic setting, availability of basic infrastructure, proximity to the international container transshipment terminal and the international airport, and waterfront connectivity are the positive factors that spell success for the project. Taking the value of the land also into consideration, the project will be worth around ₹3,650 crore.

The present project proposals involve division of the site into two zones. The first zone will have 4.87 lakh sq.ft. of residential area. The second zone will comprise two lakh sq.ft. of commercial area. Neither the State government nor the KSHB will have to make any investments. The profit share apart, the board will also get the commercial area, said a communication here.