Business & Money | Wednesday 18 January, 2017 5:22 pm |

KEF Infra, the infrastructure subsidiary of KEF Holdings, the UAE-based multinational diversified group that specializes in innovative offsite manufacturing technology, today announced its collaboration with GEMS Education to build its first school in the South Indian state of Kerala – the GEMS Modern Academy in SmartCity Kochi.

The company is producing 90 percent of the building elements at the state-of-the-art KEF Infra One Industrial Park – the world’s first and largest fully integrated offsite manufacturing park – in Krishnagiri, in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.  With the handover scheduled for the end-April 2017, the ultra-modern campus sprawling across 130,000 square feet will be ready in a record time of 5.5 months. The end-to-end offsite manufacturing process will save 50 percent of construction time, making it possible for the school to welcome students in the 2017 academic year. Among the parts manufactured in the factory, delivered flat-packed to the project site and subsequently assembled are the façade, wall panels, columns, beams, staircases, bathroom pods and modular MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) components.

Offering a unique combination of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum with an option of International Baccalaureate (IB) in senior classes, the school will accommodate more than 3,000 students.

Faizal E Kottikollon, Founder and Chairman of KEF Holdings, said: “As the first GEMS school in Kerala, the GEMS Modern Academy is synonymous with the progressive nature of the Kochi SmartCity project, which in itself represents a UAE success story in India. KEF Holdings is uniquely positioned to meet the expectations of all the entities involved in this project by fully integrating world-class design, manufacturing and technology to produce engineered solutions of the highest quality in a timely and cost-effective manner. We are committed to building social infrastructure that is key to the welfare of the community, such as schools and hospitals. Furthermore, we have a successful track record of using the offsite construction method in our projects in Kerala.”

He added: “For instance, KEF Infra carried out a complete overhaul of the 120-year-old Government Vocational Higher Secondary School (GVHSS) for Girls Nadakkavu in Kerala’s Calicut district in 2013. Currently ranked among the top three government schools in India, the institution formerly perceived as heritage has now become a model of progress for the whole nation. Even more interestingly, we are currently tailoring the Nadakkavu model to the needs of 65 schools across India for the benefit of 69,000 students. In addition, the Government of Kerala has also approved a Mission 1,000 plan to replicate this model across public schools in the state.”

In closing, he said: “Today, India and other emerging markets are on the cusp of innovation-led growth. As a UAE-based company enjoying the advantages of Industry 4.0, KEF Holdings is pioneering effective integration of technology into infrastructure development. We aim to accelerate progress through radically changing the infrastructure landscape - starting with India. At KEF Infra, we challenge conventional building methods and steer the course of the industry towards efficiency and automation.”

Commodore (Retd) K Sivakumar of GEMS Education said: “With its pioneering approach, KEF Infra was the natural choice to design and build GEMS Modern Academy. The construction, with no compromise on quality, is set for completion in half the time it would have taken if traditional methods had been used. We are confident that this project is the start of a long-term partnership between GEMS Education and KEF. We trust that our school will become a shining example of a state-of-the-art educational institution in India.”

For his part, Dr Baju George, CEO of SmartCity Kochi, said: “The technology-driven construction of the GEMS school will contribute to strengthening the reputation of SmartCity Kochi as an international knowledge hub. Through bringing in KEF Infra as project partner, GEMS Education has proven its progressive approach to education. The fact that GEMS, KEF Infra and SmartCity all have strong bases in the UAE has validated the world class development and progress that is coming to India in the areas of infrastructure, education and knowledge transfer.”

He added: “We strongly believe infrastructure projects should adopt offsite manufacturing technology on a larger scale, as the substantial reduction of project delivery time results in fast-tracking overall growth."

KEF Holdings officially inaugurated the KEF Infra One Industrial Park in Krishnagiri on December 19, 2016 as its flagship manufacturing facility that caters to a strong pipeline of construction projects in India as well as the UAE and other GCC markets.