Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 26 (IANS) A decision on the deal between the Kerala government and Dubai Internet City (DIC) on the Rs.15 billion ($340 million) Smart City project at Kochi is likely to be reached Tuesday, Chief Minister Achuthanandan said Monday.
A second round of discussions with DIC officials apparently ended on a positive note here. "They will let us know the decision tomorrow evening," said Achuthanandan.
"All those who wrote that this would not materialise will have to change. Almost all the issues have been sorted out and we have told them that we would like to announce the decision before the assembly session starts March 2," Achuthanandan told reporters here.
However, former chief minister Oomen Chandy maintained his silence on the issue, saying that he would not say anything until the agreement was finally signed.
"The Smart City project should come to Kerala and I don't want it to be lost just because I said something," Chandy remarked.
For the past two days, the Kerala government team and DIC officials have been engaged in marathon talks to finalise the deal, which the chief minister says will be inked soon.
DIC had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Oommen Chandy government in October 2005. As leader of opposition then, Achuthanandan had opposed transfer of the already developed Infopark campus to DIC agreed to by Chandy.
According to the new proposal, Infopark will not be handed over and Kerala would lease around 210 acres of land to DIC for around Rs.800 million ($17.2 million) and no free land will be given to it.