PS Group to develop IT project in Sri Lanka

City-based PS Group has renewed its interest in developing an IT project in Sri Lanka, which was stalled due to land-related issues, along with political turmoil in the island country.

Now, with the civil war coming to an end and peace slowly returning in Sri Lanka, the local government has decided to allot alternative land to the Kolkata-based company.

“We are in talks with the Sri Lanka government for the land, and hope to start work for an IT park soon. The government has shifted the project site to the heart of Colombo. We will probably partner with the Infinity Group, as originally planned,” said Pradip Chopra, chairman and managing director, PS Group.

Earlier, there were problems pertaining to the transfer of ownership rights of the land.

This will be the first time that a Kolkata-based real estate company is foraying outside India.

The project was planned to be set up in joint-venture (JV) with Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) and Infinity Park Ltd. Nearly, $80.44 million was expected to be invested in the project.

The real estate firm is hoping to build the IT park over 300 thousand square feet in Sri Lanka, expected to provide employment to about 20,000 people directly and 80,000 indirectly.

In the next two years, PS Group is hoping to complete another 50 projects, and at present it is is working on projects worth Rs 1,500 crore in Kolkata, according to information available in the company website.

It is also planning to build an IT park at Rajarhat, the projected IT hub of Kolkata.

“Over the next three years, we expect a lot of appreciation in commercial real estate prices in Kolkata. In the last one year alone, land prices in Rajarhat have increased by 15-20 per cent,” said Chopra.