Kerala IT showcases its IT parks, other investment opportunities in Gitex 2009

The Gitex Technology Week 2009 is being held from October 18 to October 22, 2009 at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Kerala IT, the unified brand developed to promote business opportunities in the field of information technology in the state, is being represented by a senior level delegation. The delegation is being led by Dr. Ajay Kumar, Secretary - Information Technology, Government of Kerala, and will include Dr. Ratan Kelkar, Director - Kerala IT Mission, and Mr. Siddhartha Bhattacharya, CEO, Infopark Kochi.

Commenting on Kerala IT's participation in Gitex, Dr. Ajay Kumar, said:

"We are pleased to showcase at Gitex the various investment opportunities in the IT sector in Kerala. In the past few years, many blue chip firms have established their presence in Kerala. The state has witnessed unparalleled development in the IT sector during the past few years. Kerala has added Koratty as the third destination for IT industry in Kerala, after Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. The initial rush by companies to Koratty is indicative of the acceptance of this new destination by IT companies."

"We realise that Gitex is an excellent platform to showcase the growth trends in Kerala IT. We look forward to meeting business organisations from the Middle East and explain to them in detail on the various opportunities in the IT sector in Kerala," he added.

The Kerala IT stall will be located at E6-30, Hall no-6.

Kerala is truly capitalizing on its geographical attributes and transforming itself in to a silicon coast through focused initiatives in IT infrastructure development, human resource development and citizen e-enablement. The state provides a range of attractive economic benefits to the companies operating within framework of Kerala IT. They are truly a single window solution for any business planning to set up operations.

All infrastructure and setting up formalities with the Government and approving authorities are taken care of by the three designated state-of-the-art IT Parks - Technopark, Infopark and Cyberpark.

Well established IT firms such as TCS, ACS, Allianz Cornhill, Sutherland, Cognizant, OPI, IBS and Infosys are some of the names that have set operations in the state. Kerala is one of the fastest growing upcoming IT destinations in India, with exports and turnover increasing tremendously in the recent years.

The state has recently added a new location to its IT landscape. Koratty became the third IT destination when it was dedicated to the nation by Shri V.S. Achuthanandan, Chief Minister of Kerala on October 10, 2009. The launch of the third IT Park has been received with great enthusiasm by the IT community with over one dozen companies booking space in the IT Park even before its formal launch.

Kerala offers unique investment opportunities like Land (undeveloped, semi developed, fully developed), finished built space as well as Public Private Partnership (PPP) opportunities. The government is establishing the footprint of IT activities in the state at an initial investment of $500m, which is expected to attract additional investments to the tune of $5bn over next five to seven years.

Apart from Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and non- SEZ IT work space, some of the Public Private Partnership ventures that the IT parks have on their roadmap are convention centres where the land is given to the private partner to build and they operate on revenue sharing model, budget hotels, hostel accommodation and recreational facilities.

Land can also be made available for training centres, multiplex, shopping centres, medical centres, public schools, working hostel and business incubators. In addition to all these facilities, there is also a plan to set up captive alternate energy stations.

Infopark Ambalapuzha is also undertaking Inland water way navigation where in permission will be given to run speed boats and jetty will be constructed by Infopark. Apart from earning carbon credits, this will further add to savings in terms of fuel costs for companies. Private Public Partnerships have been in vogue for a while now and have met with overwhelming response.