A clutch of investors from Gulf countries -- most of them non-resident Indians -- have chalked up a plan to set up an E-City in Kochi, Kerala.

Modelled on the Dubai Internet City, the E-City will be developed by the Kerala Investment Company, a firm that will be registered in the United Arab Emirates to drive foreign investment into Kerala.

The initiative comes from the UAE-based multi-billion conglomerate M K Group, owned by M Yusuf Ali. NRI businesspeople from various Gulf countries and even the government of UAE will be part of the project at Kochi.

"It is our plan to develop an E-City in Kochi that will offer a range of IT services like call centres, business process outsourcing units, medical transcription data processing, disaster recovery centres and content creation centers," Ali, who led a team of investors to the Global Investor Meet at Kochi, told rediff.com

The M K Group managing director said that the initial investment will be around Rs 500 crore. "We have the money ready with us. And the Government of Kerala has promised to find out an ideal location for the E-City in Kochi as early as possible," Ali said.

The investors have requested for than 200 acres of land in Kochi and discussed the project with Chief Minister A K Antony. The UAE Minister of Public Works and Housing and a member of the royal family, Sheikh Rakkadh Bin Salim, was also present during the discussions.

"The E-City is the second mage project that the Kerala-born Gulf businessmen have planned. We are sure the project will create thousands of employment and will lead to all round progress of the state," he said.

The first project of the Gulf investors was the Cochin International Airport, built three years ago. Dozens of NRIs are its shareholders, which is now making profit. It is India's first privately built international airport.

"If we can build an airport with government support, we are sure that we can create an E-City also in Kerala," Ali stated.

Kerala's Industry and IT Minister P K Kunjalikutty said that the government has already cleared the project. "It will change the face of Kochi. The government will be a facilitator for the ambitious project," the minister said.

He said the government would soon decide a suitable location in Kochi for the project.

The Global Investor Meet: The Complete Coverage