Wipro lines up Rs 200cr for development centre in Kochi

IT major Wipro Infotech will invest over Rs 200 crore to build a software development centre at Infopark, Kochi. The construction of the campus will begin in two weeks.

"The company has acquired 25.18 acre land at Kakkanad Infopark campus and the construction is expected to start in a few days," company sources said.

Wipro is planning a mega software development campus in Kochi, which can house 8,600 professionals. The construction will be over by 2009, company sources told Business Standard.

The company has already started giving contract for the construction of the campus. Wipro's first set of projects have already moved to Kochi and started operations. IT experts are working actively on live projects.

The company has over 300 employees at its centre in Kochi. The company's focus here is on very large scale integrated (VLSI) and embedded software technologies.

Meanwhile, Wipro has sought an additional 25 acres of land for IT-enabled services from the state government. However, due to the shortage of land, the government is yet to take a decision.

"Wipro has started its largest hardware testing unit at Infopark Vismaya building. The recruitment for the project is completed and the company is planning to expand the unit in a big way," sources close to the development said.

The government is acquiring land for Smart City near this campus. After the completion of the Smart City, the Infopark campus will be a part of the Smart City. IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is already working there.

The state's information technology infrastructure is attracting large-scale private sector investments as the Kerala is fast emerging as a key destination for technology firms in South India.

Along with the private sector, the government is also making significant investments in beefing up IT infrastructure by constructing advanced facilities in two existing state-owned facilities -- Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram and Infopark in Kochi.