IT SEZ Updates: 28/05/09

 

TATAS TO RAISE $1 BILLION FOR REALTY ARM
Mumbai
The Economic Times  Mint  The Times of India (Mumbai edition)  

Tata Sons plans to raise $1 billion from overseas investors by December 2009 for its real estate arm Tata Realty and Infrastructure (TRIL). Kishore Saletore, chief financial officer, TRIL, said,“We are in talks with overseas investors and we would be raising $1 billion for realty and infrastructure projects. TRIL plans to develop infrastructure and real estate projects of around Rs 20,000 crore within three years.”

Though the company officials refused to share any details about any specific land parcel of the group company that is being considered for any project. However, a senior official hinted that a project in Mumbai might come up soon as “Mumbai has always been special to the Tata group.” TRIL is also developing a 25 acre IT/ITES SEZ at Chennai whose cost is around Rs 3,800 crore.

 

 

AUDIT OF MEGA PROJECTS, IT PARK ON
Chandigarh
The Tribune

The controversial mega projects and the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park continue to be under the scanner of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

A team of the MHA, headed by Sanjeev Mishra, chief controller of accounts and deputy secretary, is continuing with the special audit for the allotment of land to the IT Park projects and the status of other mega projects - Medi City, Film City and Theme-cum-Amusement Park.

Complying with the April 1 MHA directive, the Chandigarh administration had transferred the records of various projects to the team for the audit. The mega projects, which are currently under the CVC scanner, had already generated a lot of dust for alleged irregularities in the allotment of the land to them and IT firms in the IT Park.

The audit involves issues of inadequate compensation to farmers on land acquisition, complaints about exemption, violations where land was sold to private buyers or companies with reference to prevailing rules, allotment of land to IT Park projects and the status of the mega projects.

The April 1 directive had asked the administration to put on hold further land acquisitions under the Land Acquisition Act.

 

 

LAND PROBLEMS NOT TO MAR BENGAL IT SECTOR PROSPECTS
Kolkata
Business Standard

Despite the slowdown and the poll debacle state IT minister is still upbeat about attracting investments in the IT sector.

Realty major DLF, after pulling out from the Rs 33,00 crore Dankuni township project, has sought denotification of the IT/ITeS SEZ it proposed to build on 25.89 acres in Rajarhat on the northern fringes of Kolkata. Infosys and Wipro are yet to get possession of land sought for its IT SEZ. The Rajarhat SEZ was notified on June 23, 2008.

One of the main reason as mentioned in the website of BoA for de-notification of the (Rajarhat) SEZ was slowdown in the economy and liquidity crunch in the overall industry. Debesh Das, state IT minister however was confident about attracting investments this year. Speaking on the sidelines of an interactive seminar organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Das said, “Many big IT players are still interested to come to Bengal, all the IT projects will happen. No one has formally decided to pull out.”

Till date no IT projects have been stalled because of land issue. “We have every intention to give land to Infosys Wipro, ICICI, all who have approached us. It will take some time though,” he pointed out. He, however, failed to mention any timeline.

It is to be noted that the state had signed back-to-back MoUs with Infosys and Wipro and promised both companies 90 acres each at Vedic Village in April last year. But land was yet to be allotted to both the companies.

“However, the growth in employment in the IT sector this year would be a bit slackened by the current downturn, it might be less than 30 percent,” the minister added. In total 30 IT companies have come to Bengal this year till date, mainly export oriented.

The Rs 6 crore venture fund launched by the State IT department in 2007, might be raised by another Rs 2 crore or more this year.

 

 

STATE INVITES FRESH EOIS FOR JAGDISHPUR
Kolkata
The Economic Times (Kolkata edition)

The West Bengal government has invited fresh expressions of interest (EoI) from Indian and overseas developers for the proposed Rs 1,500-crore IT hub in Jagdishpur, some 15 km from Kolkata airport.

The state’s decision comes after Forum-ETA — a consortium of Rahul Saraf’s Forum Projects and Dubai-based Emirates Trading Agency — backed out of the project due to inordinate delays in acquiring the necessary 336 acres.

Talking to reporters here on Wednesday on the sidelines of a conference organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce, state IT minister Debesh Das said: “We have just invited fresh EoIs for the Jagadishpur IT hub. Webel will vet the EoIs and finalise the partner.”

Though the state government had issued the land acquisition notice for the Rs 1,500-crore project in September 2008, there has hardly been any progress.

It is still not clear whether, in the coming months, the Left Front government at all will pursue land acquisition, which has been identified as the principal reason behind the CPM’s unprecedented drubbing in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls.