10 IT parks get SEZ status in AP

Gitanjali, Apache cleared in manufacturing sector

The Government of India's inter-ministerial board on Friday cleared proposals to accord special economic zone (SEZ) status to 10 IT parks in Andhra Pradesh.

Of them, six are proposed to be set up by private players while four will be developed by the state government through the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC).

Speaking to Business Standard, K Ratna Prabha, secretary, information, technology and communication, said it was a significant development that a quarter of the 40 IT SEZs cleared by the Centre belonged to Andhra Pradesh alone.

Among the six IT parks cleared for SEZ status in the private sector, three belong to Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer Services Limited, two of which will come up in Hyderabad while the third is proposed to be set up by a company in Visakhapatnam. The remaining three IT parks are proposed to be set up by Computer Associates, L&T and Raheja Group in Hyderabad.

The four IT SEZs proposed by APIIC that received SEZ clearance are "� one in Hyderabad, two in Visakhapatnam and one in Vijayawada.

This apart, the Union ministry has also given conditional clearance to Ramky Group to declare part of the Vizag Pharmacity project as SEZ.

Other than the IT parks, the projects that received SEZ status in the state include the 200-acre Gems and Jewellery Park proposed to be set up by the Gitanjali Group near Hyderabad and the shoe manufacturing facility-cum-park proposed to be set up by the Apache Group near Tada in the coastal district of Nellore.

While the Gitanjali Group has proposed to create direct and indirect employment for 50,000 people through manufacturing operations in gems and jewellery park, Apache has offered to create 30,000 jobs over a period of few years. The state industries department has lobbied for the SEZ status to both these projects owing to huge employment potential they offer to lower strata of the population.

In Hyderabad, the size of the IT SEZs proposed to be developed are in 25 acres by Satyam, 26 acres by L&T and in 30 acres by Computer Associates, sources said.

It is for the first time that so many projects and parks proposed to be set up by private companies in the state have received the SEZ status. At present, there are two SEZs functioning in the state "� Vizag SEZ being run by the government, and the other by a private pharma company in Vizianagaram district.

The projects or parks that receive SEZ status would be treated as deemed foreign territories, which enjoy several duty exemptions including a limited period income tax exemption besides other incentives offered by both the Centre and the state governments.