Elcot to allot 27 acres more for SEZ

IT companies vie to set up operations

With more and more information technology (IT) companies zeroing in on the proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Coimbatore to set up their operations, the Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot), the nodal agency for IT in the state, is planning to allot 27 acres for SEZ in addition to the existing 29 acres.

Elcot would submit a letter of request to the State government in a week's time seeking transfer of the land adjoining SEZ on the Coimbatore Medical College campus from the health department.

To speed up the operations, Elcot has floated a special purpose vehicle (SPV), Elcot IT Parks Limited, and the construction would get a green signal in the next couple of months, C Umashankar, managing director, Elcot, said at a press conference.

The total built-up area, the number of partners and the means of funding are still under consideration.

Elcot held discussions with officials of Tidco (Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation) and the state's IT secretary and decided that the IT park would be a replica of the Tidel Park in Chennai.

N Bagavathy, managing director, Tidel Park Limited, said that of the 29 acres, Wipro had booked around 12 acres for setting up its BPO operations with a headcount of 5,000, while TCS would set up its financial vertical on 5 acres with an initial headcount of 3,000 people.

"Both IT and ITeS companies would have their presence in the SEZ and altogether these companies are likely to provide employment to around 30,000 people," he added while declining to disclose the number of companies that would be operating out of this facility.

Commenting on the funding pattern, Umashankar said that Elcot's contribution would be the land while the project cost of Rs 250 crore would be borne jointly by Tidel and the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), one of the stakeholders.

Speaking on the occasion, Neeraj Mittal, Coimbatore district collector, said that the delay in the project take off was because of the problem arising out of the access route to the site.

"We are studying the possibility of widening the Avinashi Road to ease the traffic on this main arterial road," he said.

The district administration has plans to construct a flyover on the road in the next two months and convert it into a six-lane highway to ease the traffic congestion.