AT THE HELM OF A SMARTER WORLD – Dr. Baju George CEO (interim) Smartcity kochi

When Dr. Baju George , Managing Director , Smartcity dubai (holding co) & CEO (interim) Smartcity kochi shared his thoughts with us.

Every Malayali is familiar with the name Dr. Baju George, Managing Director, SmartCity Dubai (Holding Co) & CEO (Interim) SmartCity Kochi by now. The man is on a mission to give Kerala a new dimension that it yearns for. SmartCity Kochi will put Kerala right up there with the very best. We are on the road to development, and SmartCity Kochi is something people of Kerala are relying on heavily. FWD Business interacted with Dr. Baju George at the SmartCity Kochi office in Kakkanad. Dr. Baju was found to be a very humble, soft-spoken person. He greeted everyone who stepped into his office with a smile. The man seemed very conscientious. One can notice how much he listens and speaks only when he needs to. But when he spoke, he seemed to have all the answers. There is an aura about him that tells you that he’s got it all under control. Perhaps that is why people approach him all the time. He was the ultimate problem solver. Being the Managing Director of a project as big as SmartCity Kochi is no easy task but Dr. Baju seemed like the man for the job no matter how big the hurdles were. His humility and simplicity impressed us the most.

Dr. Baju George, we would like to know about who all are there in your family, and where you were born brought up?

Well, I was born in Kollam. It’s a place of cashew, as you know. Our family has settled there as early as the 1940s when my grandfather opted to make his abode there post his retirement. I got my graduation from Kollam and then I joined for LLB in Kerala Law Academy (Trivandrum). After that, I returned to Kollam to do my MBA from TKM, and when that was done, I starting working as the attorney in the district court of Kollam for a decade. So my relation with Kollam is a very close one.

How were those days as a lawyer?

It was quite exciting and challenging at the same time. I was into civil law, and I specialized in consumer law during the time of its inception in Kerala. Being a new field that not many came across, I was pretty keen on giving it a shot. I was very happy to have got a head start when I finally pursued it. This was during the period of 1987. And also was fortunate to be in the central government’s standing counsel for the telecom department. I enjoyed those days and I miss them at times. I was also a district secretary for the consumer movement and President of Quilon Junior Chamber. There were so many social activities that I indulged in those days. Yeah, now the priorities are also different. I consider myself lucky to have a fruitful career right from the beginning.

When you left for Dubai, did you ever imagine that you will return back to Kerala and be responsible for one of the biggest transformations the state has seen?

To be honest, no. Migrating to another country and finding a job there is itself a tough assignment. From that point, I never expected to return back to my native place and create jobs for others. I have seen how much the expatriates struggle with their jobs over in the Gulf. In a way, that is one reason that prompted me to come back. And I didn’t originally go to the Gulf to find a job. When I registered for my Ph.D. in the School of Social Science in Kottayam, MG university. My topic was on the problems and prospects faced by workers from Kerala. So I had to go there for at least a month to do my field work. That’s how I went to Dubai for the first time.

What is really SmartCity? What does it really mean for the people in Kerala?

If you look at the present knowledge industry in India, last year it crossed the 100 Billion dollars of worth. By the year 2020, it is expected to cross the 300 billion. So what does it mean? If you are getting over 100 billion a year from the main IT parks in Bangalore, Hyderabad or Gurgaon presently, then you will need three times the infrastructure to reach the 300 mark. That means that you need at least one more or two more of Bangalore or Hyderabad. Where can that be? The main constituent for this field is the requirement of talent. Luckily Kerala is abundant with talent and is one of the few places where we can hone the raw talent to suit the relevant job requirements. That is the main reason why we chose Kochi. If we put the right infrastructure, and the appropriate
social infrastructure around it, we can go far.

Has Kerala always been the first preference?

I’m afraid not. Because when I first suggested Kerala to the board they were not that excited. They were of the opinion that something of the magnitude of a SmartCity cannot be implemented in Kerala or Bengal. They have heard a lot about our socialistic mindset. They think that makes us a bit rebellious. However, have you noticed whenever our people leave abroad, we are so hardworking and obedient? [laughs]

SmartCity Kochi is said to bring jobs to at least 90,000 people here. Are we slowly approaching a time where people don’t have to look for opportunities abroad?

Well, I would say on the contrary SmartCityKochi will take Kerala way beyond tourism, transforming one of its major cities into an international hub for business and lifestyle. One modification that it would bring will be the growth of the knowledge industry. The second change that it will bring is that it will change a perception that has been there for an eternity. People think that no industry can start or survive in Kerala. Normally when a developer starts his business here, they have to go to 12-14 offices to get approval to develop the project . Here in SmartCityKochi, a developer doesn’t have to go anywhere else to get authorization because we already have a single window clearance board formed and environmental clearance at the masterplan level. If you give all have the necessary drawings properly then within 15 days, we will give you the approvals for your building. We are still evolving to the next level and the government has agreed to form the SmartCity Township Authority. So we will possess a lot more authority to serve the companies. A very strong statement will be sent across. I believe those are the biggest achievements and contributions of SmartCity to Kerala. Another is gettingthe right infrastructure. There is going to be a quantum leap by 2020. The whole global market for knowledge industries by that time will be three trillion US dollars. Kerala can definitely contribute a lot for that market. So we are going to get a new avenue of opportunities in addition to whatever we have in the Gulf or anywhere else.

Is SmartCity Kochi only about its IT sector?

We don’t want to limit only to the IT sector. A lot of emphasis is given to the knowledge sector. We have four sectors in SmartCityKochi. They are IT, Media, Finance, Research, and Innovation. The other day somebody was proposing to bring in the oil sector cluster in SmartCity Kochi. We have already signed to have a digital design cluster. There are a lot of specialized areas within the knowledge industry where we can make early starts and reap the benefits.

How is SmartCity Kochi different from other such projects outside Kerala?

One major difference is that this here is a part of an international network. Today we have a project in Dubai and one other in Malta, and of course now in Kochi. We are also looking at South Korea. That is going to be 10 times bigger than what it is in Kochi. So what that means is that when a developing company has an office in SmartCity Kochi, they can have a virtual presence in Dubai as well. We can facilitate them. That way they can actually operate in the entire Middle East. Similarly, in SmartCity Malta, the government of Malta is our partner. We get all the mandatory facilities within a specific timeframe, as per the SLA we have with them. So again a company here can go to SmartCity Malta and act as a European company. If they have a product/service that they want to sell in Europe, then this here is the biggest opportunity that anyone can offer. As our network is growing to other continents, the benefit of this will also reach these companies. That is what makes us different from any other IT park. Then again, this is not just an IT park. It is an entire self-contained township or knowledge industry. Now we have started an international school here.  We are also getting in an international hospital, five-star hotel, sports facility and lots more, you name it. This will attract a lot of people towards us. Why do people run to Bangalore? There is a kind of lifestyle they relish there. We are trying to replicate something like that over here in SmartCity Kochi. Then, of course, we have a digital master plan embedded within the physical master plan. So all the buildings are well-integrated.All the infrastructure is connected. We have a command control center. It makes life easier. Then, there is our first building is LEED platinum rated.— the largest IT building with that distinction in India. We are also trying to make sure that it will be affordable for the companies.

TECOM is currently looking to expand beyond Kerala and start projects on other northern parts of India. What is the progress like?

We just signed a prelimnary agreement in South Korea few weeks back. We are looking into Nigeria and Kenya. We are also interested in North India. We have looked at a couple of places. But we haven’t finalized as yet.

What is the response you are getting from the people of Kerala as of now?

As I said, in Kerala the entry cost for any industry is very high. Look at our case. It has been so many years since inception. But how did we survive? It is the support of the people that encouraged us to keep moving forward. They believe in SmartCity as it can make a change. And of course, the media, the politicians, the social leaders all supported us. This is probably the only land acquisition that happened with the consent of the people. So what we did was we clustered out an area from SmartCity and to all those people in the area who got dislocated here, they got a plot to build a building close to SmartCity. That was the model we have adopted and they all were very happy with us.

Who all have currently occupied the space in SmartCity Kochi and who can we expect to in the near future?

Around 70% of space is occupied. Many of them have started to do fit outs. We are holding on to one floor because we are optimistic of attracting one more major international entry who is yet to come to Kerala. Otherwise, the entire area is already leased out. In addition to that by December, we are launching five more construction projects spanning across over 47 lakh square feet. By the next three years, we will have about 60,000 people working here. Now the momentum has risen. I believe by 2020 at the most, we will be at full throttle.

Will connectivity be a problem for SmartCity Kochi?

No, it won’t be. Because for the entire country, the main internet gateway is in Kochi. That is like five km away from SmartCity Kochi. Two of the major international cables are landing in Kochi.

What can Kerala learn from the working model of Dubai?

Dubai is known for a couple of things. One, of course, is their vision nd the other is mission. If they believe in something they will work hard in achieving it. And their ability to deliver a project is admirable, all thanks to the able leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and the Ruler of Dubai. Whatever they do, they do it perfectly. The third thing is the marketing. Dubai is a name that is known to all. Dubai has no natural resources. What they have is a ‘can do’ attitude. All they did was the trade in the beginning. The previous Ruler His Highness Sheikh Rashid was such a visionary that he saw the present Dubai even when all they had was only desert. So that is perhaps what we should learn from them.

Text: Firdouz Hameed     Photos: Jinson Abraham     Styling: Lakshmi Babu     Makeup: Sreekumar T N    Assistant Photographers: Arun Menon & Anand Krishna     Location: SmartCity Pavilion, Kakkanad