RANKING OF KOCHI?

Here is an assortment of some of the solid facts regarding the City of Kochi which have come recently in news. Many of us neglect these facts and thus stand way back in knowledge about our city and state as a whole.

1) HVS International is an Indian hospitality industry. HVS conducted a survey to find out top eight markets in South Asia. Managing director of HVS released the survey results according to which the following are the top eight emerging markets in India:

1) Lahore

2) Islamabad

3) Ahmedabad

4) Pune

5) Vizag (Vishakapattanam)

6)KOCHI(COCHIN/ ERNAKULAM)

7) Chandigarh

8) Bhubaneswar and Mysore

The rating was done on the following basis such as rate potential, demand growth, product orientation, infrastructure, site availability, replacement costs, induced demand and new supply risks.

Among the top eight markets in India included Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur, Bangalore and Kolkata.

It is really great news as far as Kochi is considered where state government does little to improve infrastructure though it is the most developed and biggest of the cities in Kerala.

2) Knight Frank studies on emerging cities were released in June 2007. It rates Goa highest in terms of infrastructure.

The study rates KOCHI as an important transport and investment hub.

Also Kochi gets benefits due to its location. It rates Kochi as the major tourist destination in Kerala due to presence of top tourist locales in and around Kochi. The study drew attention as it was published in The Times of India.

3) Many of us aware of the fact the Kochi was chosen as the best place to live in India. The parameters used were health, education, environment, safety, public facilities and entertainment. Kozhikodewas placed second after Kochi and then the Capital city Thiruvananthapuram in number 4 spot. Interestingly Thrissur and Kannur were in 7^th and 9^th position. It was a boost to overall tourism sector in Kerala.

4) Air Ticket sale: Around 40% of airline ticket sales on the internet in India come from the four main South markets of Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi according to latest reports from online travel portal cleartrip.com published in The Times of India(Jan 21, 2008). Of the 40% of share from South these are the % from the following cities:

1) Bangalore 40.42 %

2) Chennai 24%

3) Hyderabad 24%

4) KOCHI 10%

The main advantage of Bangalore is that it has highest percentage of techies in India. Look at Kochi where it is coming up only and still ranks among the top cities in India. The techies are less in Kochi even when compared to Thiruvananthapuram or probably Coimbatore.

IT boom in Kochi is not fallacious, it is really happening in Kochi. Infopark is undergoing expansion. Recently the CM of Kerala inaugurated Tejomaya building at Infopark. He also laid foundation stone of Signature tower which will be completed in 2009. It will have twin towers of 21 floors. It will become new landmark in IT industry in Kerala. Unlike in Thiruvananthapuram where only state government IT Park is expanding, in Kochi the scenario is different where private players are investing for IT parks. Smart City project which is in limbo now when materialized will turn Kochi into IT hub of Kerala and in turn India.

5) As a matter of fact Ernakulam division of LIC retained its top slot among 105 divisions in India.

5) The below given are the words of Kerala IT secretary Ajay Kumar:

“We may not have big cities except for Kochi, but the State as a whole has superior facilities than other smaller towns in the country. That is where our opportunity lies”.

He was presenting the vision of the State in providing impetus to the growth of the IT industry at a meeting organized by the Kerala Information Technology Alliance (KITA), a non-profit, non-political global organization formed to bring Malayali IT professionals across the globe on a common platform, at Infopark on January 07, 2008.

6) Cochin International Airport is FOURTH in India in terms of International flight operations.

7) Cochin International Airport Limited(CIAL) is ranked third in the world in terms of balance between investment and profit, Cochin International Airport Ltd. is regarded as the most successful investment venture of the State and has the biggest duty free shop of the country.

Kochi is been thoroughly spotted and it is a strong contender to be a metro. Today Kochi is the only Metro City of Kerala. The government needs to concentrate more on Kochi. It doesn’t mean that the government should focus only on Kochi.

Kochi is the arguably the ideal starting point for exploring the unfathomable diversity and beauty of Kerala, rated in the top three tourist destinations by the World Travel & Tourism Council and featured in National Geographic Traveler's '50 greatest places of a lifetime'.

The beauty of Kochi lies in its backwaters. Although it locks the city, it adds to the glamour of this bustling city. The skyline of Kochi across the Marine Drive is famous and not to forget the WORLD FAMOUS CHINESE FISHING NETS AT FORTKOCHI, which is shown as sign of Kerala abroad.

All efforts should be taken to enhance the developments in Kochi. Not to mention about the vital developments going to take place in Thiruvananthapuram.

While Thiruvananthapuram is a step ahead of Kochi in terms of number of research based institutes, Kochi is far ahead of the capital city Thiruvananthapuram in terms of industries, shopping, night life, tourism, entertainment, sports etc, while both the cities are competing in terms of IT.

But reports make it clear that Kochi is their favorite IT destination. So government needs to expand the present facilities in IT sector in Kochi so that the IT companies can settle in their desired destination rather than the given place by the government of Kerala.

ALL THE BEST WISHES TO KOCHI, THE QUEEN OF ARABIAN SEA…

VIVEK SHENOY P

MARCH 20, 2008

9.25 PM