Grupo Karim’s Tegucigalpa Altia Smart City Still Months From Completion

After breaking ground nearly two years ago, Grupo Karim’s Altia Smart City in Tegucigalpa is still months from delivery due to topographical issues on the site.
The company had to redesign the construction plan and seek fresh approval from the local municipal authority, according to Kathia Yacaman, Corporate Marketing Manager at Grupo Karim’s.
“Some of the elements of the master plan were not feasible once we had all topographical data,” said Yacaman. “We needed to make some changes in the distribution of the MP components and re-start the municipality permission process.”
Yacaman told Nearshore Americas that Grupo Karim’s delivery date for the first floors will be in 8 months, with the completion of the first tower expected in 11 months. A second tower will also be available to rent in 16 months.
In the meantime, the company is operating out of a rented building in the Honduran capital.
Karim’s initial investment for the park was US$100 million and included plans for food courts, fitness clubs, supermarkets, banks, and hospitals. The business park is expected to spread around a 30-acres land and generate more than 8,000 jobs.
Secured office towers of this kind are in high demand in the Honduran capital, which is plagued by violent crime largely blamed on Mexican cartels. Although the construction is yet to take off,  floor space in one of the towers has already been fully booked, underlining this need for secure space.
Knoah Solutions, a U.S. call center firm that recently set up a delivery center in Tegucigalpa, told Nearshore Americas in an interview that it would hire office space in the business park once it is launched.
Karim’s planned the office facility for Tegucigalpa following the runaway success of its Altia Business Park in San Pedro Sula, another Honduran city close to the country’s border with Guatemala. As a result, San Pedro Sula is home to dozens of foreign BPO firms, including Alorica, Convergys, Allied Global, and KM2 Solutions, all of which have set up shop in Altia Business Park.