Construction of DLF Infopark expected to start soon

Construction work on the proposed Infopark being developed by real estate major DLF Limited over 54 acres of land near Infocity area in the city is expected to commence soon, said Pradipta K Mohapatra, the Orissa information technology (IT) secretary.

“The foundation stone for the DLF Infopark project will be laid on February 10. In the first phase, the DLF Infopark would have a total built-up area of 5,70,000 sq ft and it will offer world class office space to the upcoming IT and ITes (IT enabled services) companies”, he said.

DLF's facility is coming up in an approved SEZ (special economic zone) and the real estate player has got all the necessary clearances from the Centre and the state government. The first phase of the Infopark project entails an investment of Rs 120 crore and it is expected to be operational within two years.

Meanwhile, the proposed centre of the Software Technology Park of India (STPI) in Berhampur is also expected to be inaugurated by the end of this month. The STPI centre, the third in the state after Bhubaneswar and Rourkela is coming up on an area of three acres and it would have a built-up area of about 10,000 sq ft. “The STPI centre at Berhampur is expected to be inaugurated by the end of this month. The centre would boost IT exports from South Orissa”, said Mohapatra.

The Centre is investing Rs 5 crore on computers and networking infrastructure for the Berhampur STPI centre. The MoU (memorandum of understanding) for this centre was signed between STPI and the Orissa government in July 2005.

The Berhampur Centre of STPI will be equipped with facilities like high-speed data communication, technology incubation services, training and consultancy, internet and video conferencing and these facilities are expected to attract IT investments in South Orissa.

The data communication facility at the STPI centre integrated with point-to-point microwave, copper and fibre channels will ensure uninterrupted data connectivity and bandwidth on demand to the users. The incubation infrastructure is aimed at providing ready to occupy space at an affordable cost to the small scale entrepreneurs in the IT sector. The STPI centre will also maintain internal engineering resources to provide consultancy services in networking, web hosting, server and security management. At present, about 125 IT units are registered with the STPIs in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.