2. Executive Summary
• The Knowledge Economy is the fastest growing segment in the
global economy; significant job and wealth creator
• A Knowledge city is a cluster of institutions that are part of the
Knowledge economy
• It benefits from clustering effects and the presence of a pre-
existing knowledge economy
• Trivandrum is the best choice for such a project in Kerala
because it has a unique knowledge ecosystem that’s
unmatched in the country, is the biggest city in Kerala and has
all the infrastructural requirements for such a project
• The project should integrate existing nodes and greenfield
components
3. The Knowledge Economy
• Functions by adding value through information and its flows –
Education, Research & Development and Services
• Has overtaken the agricultural and industrial sectors in most
developed nations
• Creates competitive advantages for the country or region
• Tends to be less vulnerable to economic upheavals as it
creates intellectual capital instead of competing on cost or
production quality
• Environmentally friendly
• Major employment generator; high indirect employment
multiplier
4. The Knowledge Economy
• Functions by adding value through information and its flows –
Education, Research & Development and Services
• Has overtaken the agricultural and industrial sectors in most
developed nations
• Creates competitive advantages for the country or region
• Tends to be less vulnerable to economic upheavals as it
creates intellectual capital instead of competing on cost or
production quality
• Environmentally friendly
• Major employment generator; high indirect employment
multiplier
5. Key Principles
A Knowledge City is essentially a knowledge economy ‘cluster’.
Relevant research comes from MIT (Dennis Frenchman et al) and
Harvard (Michael Porter et al)
• Economies of agglomeration – knowledge institutions benefit
through proximity; promotes flow of information across sectors and
collaborative work
• Knowledge Ecosystem – has to be a balance of research and
application; various types of players are needed – educational, R&D,
institutional
• Live-Work-Play: closer integration of core activity and support
facilities
• Urban Location – Knowledge based clusters are moving into the city
or into the urban edge to take advantage of density and the quality
of life in an urban area
6. The Knowledge City
• The Knowledge City is a urban development that seeks to
facilitate and promote the knowledge economy
• While the City will seek to be self-contained in many aspects
in order to attract talent and investment, it has to be part of a
broader information ecosystem
• Projects built in existing ecosystems – such as Seoul Media
City, Orestad (Copenhagen), the East Cambridge cluster
(Boston) and so on – have had far greater success than pure
greenfield projects such as Masdar (Abu Dhabi).
• Greenfield projects are very risky and capital intensive
7. Components of the Knowledge City
• Information Generators: World-class R&D institutions, higher
educational institutions
• Incubators
• Production Units: Industries such as IT, electronics
manufacturing, biotechnology, aerospace, medical sciences
etc that utilize the information generated in the cluster to
create economic value
• Talent Sources: Educational institutions at all levels to create
industry specific and industry responsive talent
• Urban Infrastructure: Residential units and associated urban
amenities, efficient urban transport and infrastructure
facilities
8. Why Trivandrum’s the Best Location
for Kerala’s Knowledge City?
• Vibrant Knowledge Ecosystem
– Over a dozen world-class institutions of higher education and R&D
– Kerala’s IT hub; accounts for 70% of the State’s technology industry
– Best-in-class industrial development in aerospace and medical services
– Abundant, high quality and diverse fresh talent pool
• Urban Infrastructure
– Kerala’s biggest city
– Has best urban infrastructure in Kerala
– Has a cosmopolitan, service sector oriented culture
– Robust power and water supply
• Strong national and international transportation linkages
• Availability of land close to the periphery of the city
9. Why Trivandrum’s the Best Location
for Kerala’s Knowledge City?
• Vibrant Knowledge Ecosystem
– Over a dozen world-class institutions of higher education and R&D
– Kerala’s IT hub; accounts for 70% of the State’s technology industry
– Best-in-class industrial development in aerospace and medical services
– Abundant, high quality and diverse fresh talent pool
• Urban Infrastructure
– Kerala’s biggest city
– Has best urban infrastructure in Kerala
– Has a cosmopolitan, service sector oriented culture
– Robust power and water supply
• Strong national and international transportation linkages
• Availability of land close to the periphery of the city
10. Knowledge Ecosystem in Trivandrum
Sector Institutions
Information
Technopark, Technocity, KINFRA IT SEZ, CDAC, C-DIT
Technology
IISER, NIIST, Indian Institute of Molecular Sciences
Basic Research
(Proposed)
Aerospace VSSC, LPSC, IIST, Brahmos Aerospace
Biotechnology Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology
Medical Sciences Sri Chitra Institute for Medical Sciences, RCC
Kerala University, IGNOU, Kerala Agricultural University,
Universities
Kerala Technical University
Technopark Business Incubator, Trivandrum Research and
Incubators
Engineering (TREST)
11. Components of a Knowledge City
• Education and R&D Core
– Establish a multi-disciplinary National-level institute such as an IIT
– Attract a world-class foreign institution to set up its Indian campus in the
project; will enhance the project’s global brand
– Create infrastructure and incentives for private R&D and educational
institutions on a PPP basis
– Integrate institutions such as IISER, IIST into the cluster and provide new
campuses for RGCB and SCTIMST
• Production Areas
– Centered around Technopark and Technocity
– Create new areas for emerging sectors – nanotechnology, biotechnology
and aerospace
– Attract existing players such as Brahmos and ISRO with new land parcels
– Could be in multiple parcels
12. Components of a Knowledge City
• Social and Urban Infrastructure
– Create residential enclaves to meet at least part of the demand
– Self-contained social amenity set
– Mass transportation (monorail) and road linkages with the rest of the
metropolitan area
– High-speed linkages with the Airport
– Linkages with external nodes such as the IISER-IIST cluster or with
Technopark; fiber optic ring network and shuttle buses
– Robust power supply and district cooling systems
• Project would need upwards of a 1000 acres; to be located
close to the NH-66 or another arterial road and close to some
of the key existing nodes
13. Key Junctions along the Proposed Stretch
Possible Locations
Technocity
Media and Animation Park
Stadium and Sports Complex
Technopark Phase I
Technopark Phase III
Technopark Phase II
Rail Terminal
International Airport
Bus Terminal
Arterial Road
6/4 Lanes
Kovalam Tourism Zone
Vizhinjam Deepwater Port
14. Project Benefits
• Economic activity: Technopark currently generates Rs 4500
Crores of exports; the Knowledge City project could generate
20X
• Employment: Technopark alone employs 40,000 and the
broader knowledge sector about 100,000; the project could
increase this by a factor of 5X
• Competitive Advantage: Boost Kerala’s chances in the global
knowledge economy and place it at par with comparable
entities such as Singapore.
• Local Benefits: Expand Kerala’s economy through indirect
effects, improve the educational sector and transfer
technology to improve the daily lives of citizens
