DLF in talks with IT players for space at Infopark project

The wait finally seems to be over for DLF's Rs 1000-crore Infopark project in the city which was under a cloud of uncertainty ever since its launch in February 2009.

With the economy on the recovery track and the IT players gradually renewing commitment for their projects, DLF, the country's largest real estate developer, has also pulled up its socks.

DLF is understood to have resumed negotiations with a host of IT players- both large as well as the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for offering its IT workspace of international standards at its Infopark project being developed on a 54-acre plot in the city's Infocity area.

Confirming the development, a senior company official said, “We are in talks with the IT companies- large as well as SMEs. The project plan for our Infopark project is ready and we are keen to start construction work soon. But before resuming construction, we would launch marketing for our project.”

He did not share details on the timeline of starting construction work on the project.

Following the denotification of the SEZ status for its Infopark project, DLF had earlier announced that it would develop the project under the STPI (Software Technology Parks of India) scheme.

It may be noted that DLF had already paid Rs 15 lakh per acre towards land acquisition cost.

The company had inaugurated its Infopark project in the city in February 2009. It had gone slow on construction due to the slackening demand for IT projects in the country in the backdrop of the economic downturn.

The DLF Infopark project which was to be developed in three phases, comprises an IT block, a luxury hotel, a retail chain, service apartments and recreational facilities with a total built-up space of about 5.5 million sq ft. For setting up the luxury hotel, DLF had tied up with Hilton, an international hotel chain.

In the first phase, DLF had committed an investment of Rs 300 crore for developing an IT workspace of international standards with a built-up area of 5.7 lakh sq ft. The first phase was scheduled to be operational within eighteen months to two years after commencement of construction work.

The Infopark project was to generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for over 40,000 people in sectors like IT and ITes (IT enabled services), retail and hospitality.