Chandigarh, March 4: After indigenous Information Technology companies, it’s now the turn of foreign IT companies to show interest in the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park (RGCTP).

As many as 10 foreign IT companies based in the USA and the UK have shown their interest by applying for sites at RGCTP. About 21 IT companies based in India have also applied for the six Built-To-Suit (BTS) sites and one small campus site.

The administration has already started weighing the applications and the allotment process for these Built-to-Suit (BTS) sites would be completed within this month. By allotment of the six BTS sites and 1 small campus site, there would be no more space available for Phase-I and Phase-II.

Under the plan to develop Phase-III of the RGCTP, for which 270 acres of land are being acquired, the UT Administration has decided that land in Phase-III will only be allotted to IT companies. No area has been planned for hotels or commercial malls. After developing the whole chunk of land, it has been envisaged that around 160 acres of land would be available for IT use. The remaining land will be used for roads, green patches and public utilities including parking.

Four IT companies have already started their construction on the other BTS sites, while five more IT companies, whose building plans were approved recently, would be starting the construction in the next month. The building plans of the remaining four IT companies are ready for approval and the same would be done in the meeting scheduled for next week.

Infosys will be completing the construction of its second Software Development Block within this month. The IT giant, which already employs more than 2500 professionals, will add another 2500 professionals in the coming months. The number of IT companies in the DLF Campus has reached 20 and more than 3000 professionals are working from the DLF Campus.

The construction activity at Tech Mahindra, which started in November 2007, is targeted for completion in another six months. Similarly, the Entrepreneurs Development Centre building is also coming up very fast, which will provide incubation space for young IT entrepreneurs.

Both Phase I and II have been envisaged to provide direct employment to 32,000 people. Also, the annual software exports is likely to cross Rs 2000 crores, thereby providing valuable foreign exchange to the country.

Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Foreign-IT-companies-flock-to-Ch...