Singapore for more tech parks in India

Monday, 01 November 2004, 20:30 IST
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BANGALORE: Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan said here Saturday he wanted more technology parks set up in India in collaboration with his country. The trade and economic ties between India and Singapore would increase by leaps and bounds in the coming years, Tony said after inaugurating a new block in the International Tech Park Ltd (ITPL), a joint venture between his country and India, at Whitefield on the outskirts of Bangalore. "ITPL will be the first of many such industrial parks coming up in India with the support of the Singapore industry," Tony told IANS on the sidelines of the inaugural function. The ITPL is a consortium of Singaporean companies, Tata Industries Ltd, the investment arm of the Tata Group, and the Karnataka government. Hailing the Tech Park as India's first work-live-play environment, Tony said the unique project was a testimony to how India and Singapore could work together to create a win-win partnership. "The Tech Park symbolises the progress made by the two countries over the decades from trade ties to industrial and technological cooperation. "We have now multiple inter-section points between the two countries including manufacturing, IT, venture capital, BPO (business process outsourcing) and intellectual property management activities," Tony said. "As consumers the world over become even more sophisticated, the expectations of global firms to deliver competitive products and services will continue to rise. "These companies are responding through continuous infrastructure development and reconstruction of their value chain. They base their decisions on comparative advantages across nations and locations that can best meet their needs. "The world class Tech Park is designed and built to meet the needs of international high-tech firms in IT, bio-informatics, communications as well as electrical and electronics industries," Tony said. Stating that ITPL had set the benchmark for a new generation of technology parks in India, he said the Park had come to epitomize the strong bilateral relationship between India and Singapore. "It reflects our strong commitment to foster trade, commercial, people and cultural exchanges," Tony added. With the addition of the new block, the International Tech Park offers a total built-up area of two million square feet. About 100 global and Indian firms employing about 15,000 people operate from the high-tech Park. According to ITPL sources, the consortium has invested about 7.5 billion ($165 million) in the Tech Park. The Singapore partners led by Ascendas Land (International) Pte Ltd and Tata Industries hold 47 percent each of the equity, with the balance six percent by the state. "Bangalore continues to be the city of choice for IT firms in India. For the first of half of this year, the high-tech city has attracted 1.8 million sq. ft. of occupants, followed by Hyderabad and Chennai," said Ascendas CEO Chong Siak Ching. "As long as Bangalore continues to upgrade its infrastructure in pace with the strong demand, we are confident that the IT capital of India will continue to shine." Karnataka chief minister N. Dharam Singh, who was present on the occasion, said the Tech Park had become an icon and a testimony to many other tech parks coming up across the country.
Source: IANS