The 17th of February 2021 was yet another milestone in the journey of Taurus Investment Holdings India and Embassy Group, as they officially launched Keystone- the first of its kind IT/ITES pre-fabricated office facility in the 2 million sq. ft world-class SEZ office space Embassy Taurus TechZone in Taurus Downtown Trivandrum. Keystone was inaugurated by Chief Minister Shri. Pinarayi Vijayan, in the presence of the Minister for Tourism, Co-operation and Devaswoms Shri Kadakampally Surendran, Shri. Sashi Tharoor MP, Attipra Ward Councillor Smt. A Sreedevi, Technopark former CEO Shri Sasi P Meethal, Taurus India MD Shri Ajay Prasad and Embassy Group COO Shri Aditya Virwani. Keystone was inaugurated virtually, strictly abiding by all COVID protocols.
A one of its kind incubation facility
Keystone, unarguably the first of its kind project in the history of office real estate in Kerala, is a 62,500 sq. ft pre-fabricated incubation facility, designed to help businesses begin work and get up to speed before their office spaces become functional. With 800 seats across two floors, Keystone has centrally air-conditioned plug and play office spaces. The incubation facility is also equipped with meeting rooms, conference rooms, a cafeteria, Fire Alarm and Fire Protection systems, 100% power backup and Building Management System for efficient operations.
The facility will be occupied by companies that have signed up for leased space in the Niagara building in Embassy Taurus TechZone, currently under construction. Keystone can probably be termed as an innovative and uncommon concept, at least from a Kerala perspective, where companies can begin their operations from a pre-fab, temporary facility which is as good as a commercial office space.
On inaugurating the Keystone facility through video conferencing, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan termed Taurus Downtown Trivandrum, a landmark project of the government. “Keystone is one of its kind office facilities in Kerala. It’s great that these companies can start with their operations through Keystone even before their office spaces in Embassy Taurus TechZone become functional,” said CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran relaunched the work of Embassy Taurus TechZone in Taurus Downtown Technopark. “It is also notable that health kits are being distributed to government school students in the area. The project, on completion, will also benefit the local businesses around Technopark,” said the Tourism Minister on delivering the Presidential Address via video conferencing.
The first office facility in Taurus Downtown Trivandrum
Keystone is also the first functional office space building in Embassy Taurus TechZone in Taurus Downtown Trivandrum. The construction of Keystone commenced in August 2019 and was completed by December 2020, using Pre-Engineered Building Technology. However, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the commissioning of the facility and its operations. The pre-fab facility was earlier used by Wells Fargo in Embassy Park in Bangalore, which was then dismantled and reassembled here in Trivandrum Technopark Phase 3.
On offering felicitations at the ceremony through video conferencing, Dr Shashi Tharoor MP Thiruvanathapuram said: “The inauguration of Keystone at Embassy Taurus TechZone in Taurus Downtown Trivandrum is exciting news as I genuinely believe that the completion of Taurus Downtown project will bring a lot of companies into this part of Technopark, enhancing Thiruvananthapuram’s reputation as the ideal location for technology companies and for their employees and families,”.
The new city centre of Trivandrum
The Downtown Trivandrum project consists of Embassy Taurus TechZone (ETTZ) – a 20 Lac sq. ft of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) IT/ITES office space, 3.8 Lac sq. ft of Non-Special Economic Zone (Non-SEZ) IT/ITES office building, Taurus Zentrum – the 7 Lac sq. ft retail and entertainment centre, a 120 key business class hotel and Asset Taurus Identity – a serviced residential complex of 301 units. A nationally reputed co-working operator will be setting up a facility at ETTZ and Mexico-based Cineplex would set up Kerala’s largest 15-screen multiplex in Taurus Zentrum, which includes Kerala’s first IMAX screen. The project on completion is expected to generate over 30,000 direct jobs.
On delivering the welcome address at the launch ceremony, Taurus India MD Ajay Prasad expressed his pleasure in launching Keystone, which will provide transit office space for tenants who will be occupying space in the 1.5 Million sq. ft of Niagara building in ETTZ. “We are equally thrilled to relaunch the construction work of Niagara. This world-class building will open its doors to over 10,000 technology professionals next year. This marks the beginning of a phased restart of work across the 4 million square foot first phase of the Taurus Downtown Trivandrum project. It will act as the nucleus of Technopark and a new city center for Trivandrum and help to power the growth of Trivandrum as we recover from the effects of the pandemic.” said Ajay.
Embassy Group COO Aditya Virwani said that Trivandrum was fast emerging as a preferred destination for IT/ITeS companies. “At Embassy, we are committed to be a part of this significant growth and facilitate employees returning to formal office spaces, post the pandemic. Keystone prefabricated office space was set up in a record time of 8 months, since its inception in August 2019, and is now ready for immediate occupation. We are positive that this will accelerate commercial activity in the region” he added.
Yet another attraction of the Keystone launch event was the unveiling of the EarthCam monitoring system by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran. EarthCam technology is a one of its kind facility used by Taurus Downtown Trivandrum, that will enable live-tracking and closer monitoring of the on-site construction activities for all concerned stakeholders.
As part of the community outreach program of Taurus India and Embassy Group, health kits were also distributed in the launch ceremony to the heads of two government schools; Kaattil Relief LP School, Kulathoor; and, Govt. L P School, Manvila by Attipra Ward Councillor A Sreedevi. Taurus also plans to distribute over 650 health kits in the schools around Technopark.
The demand for world-class commercial and mixed-use real estate has gained momentum and will also increase manifold in the coming years. With Kerala, especially Trivandrum becoming the preferred destination for global IT/ITes companies, Taurus Downtown Trivandrum will change the face of the city and will further accelerate commercial growth in the region. Keystone is just the beginning !!
