A high-level team from Dubai, headed by Ahmed bin Byat, director general of Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone (Tecom) Authority, signed the final agreement yesterday for setting up an exclusive knowledge industry hub in the port city of Kochi in India.

He signed the deal with the state government at a solemn function held in the presence of Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, his Cabinet colleagues and senior government officials.

The Dubai team included the Tecom Investments chief executive officer Abdullatif Al Mulla, Tecom executive director Fareed Abdul Rahman and other key officials who negotiated the deal.

Work on Smart City in a 246-acre land being given on a 99-year lease will begin within two weeks once the deal is signed and the first building is expected to be completed in 18 months.

Another 30 acres of land is also being handed over on freehold to the joint-venture in which the state government would hold a 16 per cent stake.

Tecom, which runs Dubai Internet City, the Middle-East’s largest ICT infrastructure, is also setting up a similar facility in Malta, SmartCity@Malta to cater to its European clients. The Kochi facility is expected to host labour-intensive units of the global information and communication technology majors and is expected to create 90,000 jobs.