cables. The zone is exempt from the power-cuts normally applied to the consumers at the time of shortages. BSNL have established a 1000 line 5ESS telephone exchange exclusively for the zone. It supports all the facilities available to PSTN, ISDN and DSL customers. The cellular operators have base stations on site, and the private telecom operators also provide telephone and high speed internet services. The international gateway of VSNL is located very close to the zone, and have established an access centre on the premises of the zone. The CSEZ authority have established an optical fiber network that serve all the buildings, where the units can avail the connectivity for data and internet access. The zone has also set up a video conferencing facility that could be availed by the units. The Zone has its own integrated water supply system. Water is drawn from the Kadamprayar river and treated at a facility within the Zone. The system capacity is 1.5 million litres per day. A Common Effluent Treatment facility of one million litre per day capacity is established to process all the sewage and effluents let out from units. Zone units are required to send all their sewage and effluent to this treatment plant. Units are encouraged to undergo ISO 14000 certification. There is a warehouse admeasuring an area of 24000 sq.ft. for the temporary storage requirements of CSEZ units. The Zone has an efficient drainage network and an incinerator for disposal of solid waste within the zone. The Zone also has a 35m3 capacity bio-gas plant to treat vegetable/seafood waste. The Muthoot Technopolis is an IT Park building within the zone. History The Government of India resolved to set up CEPZ, the predecessor of CSEZ, on 28 June 1983. Construction started on 1 May 1985 with an estimated cost of 15 Crores. The official notification for the establishment happened on 26 August 1986. The first board meeting to consider the applications for setting up units was held on 7 June 1986. M/s D. V. Deo, a manufacturer of essential oils and oleoresins, conducted the first export in October, 1986. The zone is originally envisaged to support industries operating in the fields of Electronics, Computer Software, Readymade Garments, Spices, glass products, wood products, leather products, rubber products, coir-based products, food-processing, pharmaceuticals, light engineering goods, sports goods, printing, gems and jewellery, electrical appliances, hand tools, automobile parts etc. There was a