In a bid to become a major manufacturing hub for space-related technology, and attract global startups working on research and development in the space sector, the Kerala government will set up the country's first state-of-the-art Space Systems Park in the state capital.

The proposed park will come up at the Technocity campus in Knowledge City in Thiruvananthapuram, the newest destination for IT companies.

It will house the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Knowledge Centre and Space Museum, developed with investments from ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). 

The state government has already issued orders to make the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Knowledge Centre and Space Museum a part of the space park. 

The state government will transfer 20.01 acres of land as lease to the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Ltd (KSITIL) to develop the space park.

A total of 16.07 acres of the land which belongs to Technopark, now having SEZ status, will be denotified by KSITIL. 

The KSITIL will hand over the land required for the APJ Abdul Kalam Knowledge Centre and Space Museum to ISRO through a lease agreement. A government order has already been issued in this regard.

Chiefly a manufacturing hub for companies using GIS and other data systems, the integrated complex will also have startup incubator, skill training systems and accelerators including Airbus Bizlab. 

The entire project will be implemented by the Electronics and IT Department, government of Kerala.

"With the space park materialising, the Kerala capital will become a key hub of space technology in the country. The Space Park is being set up to leverage on the opportunities provided by 'Space 2.0 and it will generate lots of high tech jobs,” said M. Sivasankar, Secretary, Electronics and IT, Government of Kerala.

With IANS inputs