Investment plans pour in at Infocity

The Infocity project near Gandhinagar, after some initial hiccups, is humming with activity following proposals coming in from various call centres, business process outsourcing and software companies.

The project, developed by the US-based Creative IT Inc and its Indian arm Creative Infocity Ltd, an Ahmedabad-based company, is planning to construct another tower to house the new companies.

It is in negotiation to set up their units in this structure in which the government of Gujarat holds a 11 per cent stake.

"We have come out of an initial bad patch. During the last one-and-half years, 10 companies including a US-based call centre and a UK-based call centre company set up their units here.

"They have plans to expand even before two years since these companies started operating from here. By this March we are expecting Bellsouth Inc, one of the largest call centre companies in the US, to start operations from here.

"Also, a Singapore-based software company has signed up with us for setting their centre," said Anupam Saxena, general manager of Creative Infocity.

The main seven-storied tower called Info Tower-1, which has a built-up area of 2,25,000 sq feet, is almost sold out except the top two floors.

The second segment of the Infocity, Soft Tower, which has a built-up area of 200,000 sq feet, is expected to be ready for possession in another month's time.

Companies such as Effective Teleservices of the US and iServe Pvt Ltd of the UK have been operating from the Info Tower-1 while Business Datasoft (I) Pvt Ltd has been operating its BPO unit from here. Sancom Technologies of Ireland has chosen Infocity for its research and development hub for chip designing.

"We are constructing another Info Tower of seven-storied with the increasing demand from various companies in India and abroad.

"Our residential colony with over 400 units will be ready for possession by the end of this March.

The housing colony, developed within the Infocity campus, will house mainly the employees of various companies operating from here.

"We have kept a few units for other professionals, willing to live in a pollution-free ambiance," said Saxena.

Infocity is also developing a resort-cum-club house for the employees of the companies operating from here, which is expected to be ready next month. The total investment of the company has already crossed Rs 75 crore, apart from another Rs 20-25 crore of debt flowing in following the Foreign Investment Promotion Board's approval.

"During 2001 and 2002, because of the earthquake and communal violence, companies were little reluctant to set up their base in Gujarat. But now that stigma is over and more and more companies are showing interest to set up shop here. Though the state is yet to show any steady sign of being another Hyderabad or even Pune."

Infocity offers the right infrastructure needed for software companies, call centres and BPO companies such as uninterrupted power supply and bandwidth connection.

The bandwidth is provided by players such as Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL), Hutch, Idea, GailTel and Bharat Sanchar Nigam," said a state government official. The companies can choose from the options of local loop, optical fibre cable and satellite.

"We expect major national players in the software industry to start their units here shortly. Few of them have already shown indication in this respect," he said.