Kochi
(formerly known as Cochin) is a city in the state of Kerala, at the southern
tip of India (South Asia). In the 15 years from 2006 to 2020 Kochi had
everything going for it. Kochi is at the eye of a perfect storm in its favor. A
unique convergence of political and private goodwill, and a larger than usual
dose of luck, pushed an unlikely Kochi to the cusp of leapfrogging its
competition. Considering the trend of reverse migration from metros, here is my
two-cents about Kochi.
Private
investment
Kerala
boasts one of the largest international diasporas (Malayalees or Keralites) among
any Indian state. But in these last 15 years, this vast diaspora cashed in its
chips in Kochi’s favor. At the turn of the century, pseudo malls like the Bay
pride and Penta-Menaka arcade, and the American-strip-mall-styled Broadway were
the apples of our eyes. Kochi was yet to see the decade in which five malls
(Lulu International, Oberon, Gold Souk Grande, Centre Square, and Abad Nucleus),
would vie for its attention. Lulu even had a brief stint as the largest in
South-Asia. Lulu Mall and Aster Medicity found their way to this little city
due to their Malayalee founders. Builders that had for decades flourished in
other states started to take notice and found the allure of Kochi, with
residential and commercial projects by the likes of Prestige, Puravankara,
Confident group, etc.
Kochi
International Airport (CIAL) is a thriving public-private partnership model that
made Terminal-3 a reality in 2018, among the five largest terminals in India. CIAL’s
ability to pull of Terminal-3 lends legitimacy to CIAL’s long-rumored plans for
an airport-based SEZ (third after Hyderabad and Nagpur) and an airport city
(Aerotropolis) to cover 300- 450 acres* of land near the airport. The government
proposal in 2015 for an airport free-zone in Nedumbassery to utilize the
1,253-acre* CIAL property bodes well for these plans. There are investments and
development along the seaport-airport road and the proposed four-lane highway
(design speed of 100 km/hr) between Kundanoor junction (NH 47 - Kochi Bypass)
and Kochi International Airport up to Kariyadu.
Employment
and business in addition to tourism
Known
for hartals and bandhs, Kochi had for long languished behind the larger cities
of southern India. Infopark and Kochi had the wind behind its sail, with other big
cities getting crowded and running out of space. For example, the Silicon
Valley of India, Bangalore, claimed the title of the slowest city to travel in India,
with its traffic congestion. The IT (information technology) sector that saw
India become a powerhouse has finally found Kochi with the focus on Infopark.
Being
chosen as the site for India's first International Container Transshipment
Terminal built at Vallarpadam in Kochi broke the curse of languishing behind
its neighbors. Kochi had for long been overlooked, despite being the ideal
candidate with a natural deep-sea harbor close to the international trade
route. The international transshipment terminal fueled the Puthuvypeen SEZ in
Kochi, which has attracted Petronet LNG Limited, India's largest importer of
liquid gas, to set up its second mega LNG receiving terminal at the cost of ₹ 3,700 crores*, and a mega LPG storage terminal by Indian Oil Corporation.
Employment
opportunities have grown in leaps and bounds with the shipyard and airport. Cochin
Shipyard Ltd took on the mantel of being one of the largest shipbuilding and
maintenance facilities in India, building India's first indigenous aircraft
carrier. The Kochi international airport built on a public-private partnership has
become Kerala’s flagship airport and eighth in India by passenger volume for
2019-20 (Wikipedia).
And finally, tourism gets a fillip with India’s first full-fledged international cruise terminal at Willingdon Island, commissioned in 2020, at a budget of approximately ₹ 26 Crores* created a facility to handle 5000 tourists over 12,200 sq. ft.* with facilities for Customs, Bureau of Immigration, and CISF under one roof.
Healthcare
At
the turn of the century, Kochi barely had an adequate number of tertiary
hospital beds with the Medical Trust (Old block) hospital, Lisie hospital, Ernakulam
general hospital, Welcare hospital, Ernakulam medical center, Lourdes hospital,
Lakeshore, etc. Investments from Kochi’s international diaspora and
well-wishers, further attracting commercial interest in a journey that almost
doubled Kochi’s bed count with Aster Medicity owned by a Malayalee, Rajagiri hospital,
Amritha medical college, Medical Trust (New block), Apollo hospital, KIMS
hospital, etc., in one and a half decades. Kerala has been ahead of the country
in palliative care provided even for the poor. Assisted living and retirement
homes are quickly making inroads in Kochi.
Transport
options and roads
Kochi’s
transition from being renowned for its pothole-ridden roads to being the proud
owner of the second profitable metro rail network in India (after Delhi metro),
is a Cinderella story. Kochi was first among tier-2 cities in India to be
allotted a metro project under a scheme of the Union Government, and its
planning, approval, and implementation have spanned across the rule of all
parties at the state and central level, creating a unique buy-in that spans
across political parties. The Kochi Metro with 25 stations between Aluva and Petta
with an extension to Tripunithura railway station in phase one and approved phase
two to connect Palarivattom with Kakannad and InfoPark gives traveling in Kochi
a boost akin to moving from 2G to 5G. A much-needed remedy for a city that grew
organically with few planned roadways, the metro rail became a reality from
Aluva to Thykoodam at the cost of over ₹ 5000 crores. After a bumpy start,
the likes of Ola, Uber, and Ola-Auto’s, in addition to the prepaid autos have
given a fillup to last-mile connectivity, while the planned last-mile options
by Kochi Metro kick in.
What
once was a national highway to bypass the city of Kochi turned into the artery
of the city lined with three Malls (Lulu, Oberon, and Gold Souk), showrooms,
shops, and eateries. An alternate national highway proposed from Angamaly to
Marad would be the icing on the cake, but it remains on the drawing board even
after a decade of being proposed. This alternate bypass would remove
inter-district traffic from the heart of the Kochi. Kochi had been a city with fewer
bridges than you could count on your fingers, and bad roads and potholes being the
norm. In over a decade, Kochi has dozens of bridges, even though there is its
fair share of delays and faulty flyovers. Driving down the new four-lane
seaport- airport road, often makes you forget that you are driving in Kerala.
Vyttila mobility hub has taken up the mantel for Kochi like Chamrajpet did for Chennai, hosting a central bus stand. But the Vyttila mobility hub could be a game-changer once the approved concept of an integrated mobility hub, is implemented taking advantage of government land in the heart of Kochi. The water-metro along its waterways lend Kochi the name- ‘the Venice of the East’. The Vyttila Mobility Hub Society (VMHS) is progressing beyond the bus stand, boat jetty and the metro station, in phase 2 with the government-approved (₹ 572 crore*) development plan on its 7.23 acres of land*. The Tripunithura Mini hub with an integrated metro, railway and bus stand, at an estimated cost of ₹ 290 crores* will ensure that Kochi has options as the city expands, and Vyttila can no longer play the overcrowded role of an inter-district transit point.
On
its way to becoming the state with the most international airports, the Kochi
airport, built on a public-private partnership, has become Kerala’s flagship,
and the fourth largest international airport in India, providing Kochi both visibility
and connectivity.
Smart
city project
Kochi
was sixth on the list of first 20 smart cities nationally that were selected by
the central government for its ambitious, smart city project (20 Lighthouse
Cities in the first round of the All India City Challenge for 100 smart cities).
To be selected before the two big neighbors, Bangalore and Chennai, India’s 3rd
and 4th largest cities respectively, or even before Thiruvananthapuram
made it to the list, was a pleasant surprise. When the central government
called for smart city applications, Kochi had an advantage in its favor, as a
second-tier city on fast-forward. I think one of the critical requirements of
the smart city project was the ability to solicit funds from the financial
market (debt or equity) to match the center and state’s combined contribution
of ₹1000 Crores*. Thanks to the in-progress metro rail project managed by Mr. E.
Sreedharan a Malayalee (‘Metro man’ of Delhi metro, Konkan Railways fame), and
a phase one budget of ₹5181 Crores* and approved loans from the French
financial aid agency (AFD) and Canara Bank.
Education
A
spurt of engineering colleges over the last two decades allowed Kerala to stem
the outflow of its students to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In its wake, Kochi
went on to have about eight premier engineering colleges, including the older
cornerstones like Cochin University, Model engineering college, etc., and five
medical colleges. Innumerable colleges have sprouted up all over Kochi,
reminding me of the old saying “the damsels of St. Teresa’s college, the
gentlemen of Maharaja’s college, … of St. Albert’s college, and … of Sacred
Heart college”. Good old simpler days! For management education, in addition to
the top-ranked SCMS and Rajagiri Business college, IIM Kozhikode started its
satellite campus to take advantage of the Infopark. IIM Kozhikode will soon
have its campus in Kakkanad, Kochi.
Cultural
foothold
Kochi,
the financial capital of Kerala, the ‘Queen of the Arabian sea’, has the cultural imprint of having been a
trading port for over 500 years, the backwaters along the shores of the Arabian
sea, the cultural allure of Fort Kochi, the oldest Jewish synagogue in the
country, the scenic marine drive, etc. But still, Kochi did not have the recall
of the likes of the ‘Garden City’, ‘Silicon Valley of India’ (Bangalore), or
the 'Detroit of India' (Chennai) or 'The Maximum City', 'Land of Bollywood'
(Mumbai). But the Kochi-Muziris Biennale changed all that, bringing
international focus to Kochi, with the most significant art exhibition in India
and one of the largest contemporary art festivals in Asia to Fort-Kochi, in
Kochi.
Kochi
is ranked high in the best cities to live in and invest
Kochi
slowly inching past the multi-million city criterion could bring it within the
focus of central government projects, ensuring a bright future. To have a city
that has such a balance between opportunity, affordability, and natural beauty,
while still retaining its laid back culture, is a dream for many an Indian. Kochi
is ranked pretty high among best cities to live in India, and all these lists
included most of the eight metros Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and the
new additions Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Pune.
· 7th best city to
live, in a list with Thiruvananthapuram (19th), Coimbatore (20th),
and Mangalore (25th) (https://www.holidify.com/collections/best-cities-to-live-in-india)
· 9th best cities to
live and work in India in a list of 12 cities where Tiruvanathapuram is 10th(
https://www.easemytrip.com/blog/best-places-to-live-and-work-in-india)
· 5th
among 9 top Indian cities to invest in (https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/real-estate/real-estate-here-are-9-smart-indian-cities-to-invest-in/articleshow/51467656.cms)
Reverse migration from metros
The online survey by Economic-Times identified the Kochi among the cream of the new crop of tier-2 cities named as potential destinations for people seeking reverse migration from metros. Main reasons: good infrastructure, connectivity, jobs, a cleaner environment, and work-life balance. Significantly, the survey shows that almost 65% want to move from metros to tier 2 or 3 cities, 30% in the next five years, and 26% as soon as they get a good job. Reasons included ‘high level of pollution’ (78%), high cost of living (58%), and the high cost of buying a house (48%). (https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/plan/want-to-shift-from-metro-city-here-are-costs-ease-of-living-features-of-tier-2-towns/articleshow/71771909.cms?from=mdr)
(*Unverified figures from newspapers like The Times of India, The Hindu, The Economic Times and internet sources like Wikipedia)
Great job, this is good information which is shared by you. This information is very meaningful and factual for us to increase our knowledge about it. Always keep sharing this type of information. Thanks. Read more info about hospital bed rental bangalore
ReplyDelete