The Kerala government on Thursday signed a lease deed with Tecom of Dubai for the commencement of the civil work of Smart City Kochi.

The deed was signed by Tecom CEO Abdul Latheef Al Mullah, and K Sureshkumar, secretary, IT department of Kerala in the presence of S Sharma, Minister for Registration.

The lease agreement is for a period of 99 years. On February 2, the government had ended the three year stalemate over the mega IT infrastructure project.

The government had idenitified 246 acres of land in Kakkanad near Kochi for the Smart City, of which 133 acres has already received SEZ status.

Al Mullah said the master plan of the proejct would be presented in the next meeting of the board of directors, and that construction work would commence soon.