Soil testing works are nearing completion at Tidel
Soil testing works are nearing completion at the 56-acre IT Park project site near the Coimbatore Medical College.The Development Commissioner of Madras Export Processing Zone, SEZ, B Vijayan, inspected the site on Thursday to assess whether the land is free from encroachments.‘‘Since it is government land, there are no issues and he (Vijayan) has given the go-ahead,’’ said Elcot’s business development manager, L Stanislaus.Elcot would apply for the gazette notification of SEZ by Monday. The construction work of the Rs 1.05-lakh model of the IT park is likely to begin by August-end.The model , developed by CRN Architects, is made available in the official website of Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (ELCOT) www.elcot.in.Over 40 IT and ITES companies have already booked more than 5 lakh sq ft of built up area out of the total 12 lakh sq ft. ‘‘The soil test works are still on and we are hoping to call for tender relating to construction works soon,’’ Stanislaus told this website’s newspaper.‘‘We want the Tidel Park operational by December 2008,’’ he said echoing the expectations of Elcot managing director, C Umashankar.The results of the soil investigating test from the nine samples collected so far from the site indicate that a cost-effective foundation is possible, said the chief engineer of the project S Natarajan.FS Engineers Private Limited, Chennai, who conducted the test, has recommended a ‘strip raft’ foundation that would involve lesser investment.
Stanislaus said the Tidel Park is far off from the Coimbatore airport.So the need for any stipulation on the height of the structure does not arise. The plan proposes two storeys under the ground and 12 storeys above.A sum of Rs 15 crore has been earmarked by ELCOT for laying roads — both approach roads and inners roads — for which the tenders would be called this weekend.According to reports, the Tamil Nadu Government has set up a nine-member committee to supervise the infrastructure development for IT parks in tier II cities in the State.
