Orissa woos IT firms with free space offer

Monday, 01 March 2004, 20:30 IST
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BHUBANESWAR: In a unique effort to market its IT infrastructure aggressively, the Orissa government has offered free space to BPO companies in the state. Described as a never before offer, the government has announced that anybody interested in starting, continuing or expanding any BPO operation in the state will be supported in the endeavour. It will provide them free space in the state-of-the-art complexes in the capital city Bhubaneswar, including Infocity, Fortune Tower, Tower 2000 and OCAC Tower, for three years. All that is needed is a BPO order, said a senior official in the IT department. The last date for submission of applications for this offer is March 15. The state government has announced the offer on its website and now plans to publicise this in a big way so that more BPO companies operate in the state, he said. Infocity is an industrial park spread over 205 acres on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. Launched by the state government for software and IT giants, 70 percent of the land has already been allotted to companies, including Infosys. But there is room still for some new companies. Similarly, Fortune Tower, a seven-storied building outside this city, has also been built to provide space for IT companies. This complex is connected to the Software Technology Park of India (STPI) earth station next door by fibre optic cables. Besides, the entire building is equipped with high-speed data link. Although 30 percent of the tower has been leased out, 70 percent space is still vacant, the official said. The government has also built the seven-floor Tower 2000 in the heart of Bhubaneswar dedicated to IT units and IT-related training centres. Although some space has been leased out, a large portion still vacant. It can be given to smaller IT companies or to any big IT venture. The government will provide space for a minimum 50-seat operation in all these buildings. Though it will not charge anything from the companies for three years, they will be asked to pay for broadband connectivity and other common infrastructure facilities like security, the official said. The government will help the companies in business promotion and networking.
Source: IANS
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