Satyam lines up Rs 800 cr investment in SEZs

Having received clearance to set up five special economic zones (SEZ) - two in Hyderabad and one each in Nagpur, Chennai and Vizag - Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer Services will invest $200 million, or around Rs 800 crore, in the first phase of development.

In the first phase, work will commence from April 1 at the Hyderabad and Chennai SEZs for which the company will invest the money over the next 12-18 months.

The company will start work on the Nagpur and Vizag SEZs in the second phase.

Satyam will shift about 30,000 employees to the SEZs. "There will be a time lag between the facilities being ready and people actually occupying the centres. We will have people working from these centres in the next 24 months," said CFO Srinivas Vadlamani. The capital for the development will be raised through internal accruals.

In an earlier report, the company had mentioned that it was likely to add around 3,000 employees by March-end. Its target for gross (employee) addition for 2007-08 (April-March) was 17,000.

However, S V Krishnan, head (human resources), had said, "We have already crossed that level and plan to add a net 3,000 employees by March-end."

With the government showing no change in its stance for extending the software technology park of India (STPI) benefits for the IT and ITeS sector, larger IT firms are opting for SEZs.