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P.T. Jyothi Datta

To be developed and promoted by an SPV company

Mumbai , Sept. 27

Kochi may not have the first mover advantage, but certainly can offer an alternative venue for biotech companies exploring opportunities in marine and herbal biotechnology and bio-informatics.

The Chatterjee Group (TCG) has been roped in by the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation to develop a biotech park in Kochi. This will be TCG's second after its International Biotech Park (IBP) at Pune.

The Kochi biotech park will be developed and promoted by an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) company and initial investments in excess of Rs 200 crore will go into the land and its development, Mr Prasanta Biswal, IBP's Chief Executive Officer, told Business Line.

The SPV, christened as "First Knowledge Park, Cochin", will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of TCG Urban Infrastructure Holding Ltd, he said. The company looks to start work in the next three months. He expects to lease out infrastructure to companies in about a year, he said. Further, he expects, companies to invest upwards of Rs 500 crore in the infrastructure that they lease out.

Elaborating on the opportunity that Kochi would offer, he said that marine and herbal biotechnology would be segments specific to the region that can be explored.

"We are looking to put Kochi as an alternate venue on the biotech map, besides Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi," he said. As other centres get saturated, Kochi brings in new opportunities, he added. Also, real-estate costs may be more affordable for the smaller biotech companies at the Kochi park compared to the existing parks.

The Kochi biotech park will not be a joint-venture unlike the Pune park that is being developed through a joint-venture with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. The company has already started leasing out space at the Pune park, he added.

More Stories on : Bio-tech & Genetics | Infrastructure | Kerala

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