Bhutan, the world’s youngest democratic, is set to have the highest Knowledge City (KC) on earth. Helping the erstwhile Himalayan kingdom earn this distinction is a West Bengal-based firm specialising in infrastructure for information technology and IT-enabled services.
The Bhutan
government has cleared Infinity Group’s KC project on a 1500 acre corrugated plot between capital Thimphu and Paro, where the country’s lone airport is sited. The site is at an average 8,000 ft above sea level.
“We are yet to hear of a similar project on a higher elevation elsewhere across the globe,” said Infinity CMD Ravindra Chamaria here on Saturday.
Chamaria and Infinity executive director Pulak Chamaria were here to promote the firm’s maiden green home twin projects. Both ‘energy-efficient’ projects are in Guwahati, as is the Northeast’s first IT Park that is expected to provide 3 million sq ft of workspace in five years for Rs. 600 crore.
Infinity’s Bhutan project is expected to cost US $ 1 billion or Rs. 5,000 crore. So is the firm’s KC project across 1600 acres at Vadodara in Gujarat. “Work at the Gujarat site is under progress,” the senior Chamaria said.
Larsen & Toubro has also undertaken a KC project on NH 8 near Vadodara. But Infinity claims to have pioneered the KC concept in India.
KC entails 30-35 corporate entities sharing high-end world class infrastructure such as mega convention hall, massive library, sophisticated multi-sports facilities and other amenities. Such set-ups are beyond the scope of any firm individually.
The job of Infinity or other developers is to build the basic infrastructure for the corporate entities to pool in their investments for the finishing touches.
“We are also in the process of building another 7 million sq ft of IT-empowered intelligent workspace across India and Sri Lanka,” said the Infinity CMD.