IT SEZ Updates: 22/7/09

HIMACHAL CABINET NOD TO GREEN IT HUB
Charanjit Ahuja, Chandigarh
The Financial Express

The Himachal Pradesh cabinet has cleared setting up of the state’s first information technology park, green IT hub. The state government plans to set up five IT parks -- at Waknaghat and Nalagarh in Solan district, Palampur and Nurpur in Kangra district and Dalhousie in Chamba district. The cabinet note said, “The Himachal Pradesh cabinet has decided to float tenders to invite open bids from private players to design, develop, build an information technology park as Green IT Hub of world-class standards.”

The proposed Green IT Hub would be set up over 65 acres of government land at Waknaghat with an estimated investment of Rs 460 crore. The cabinet note claimed that the proposed IT hub would provide jobs to about 25,000 educated, unemployed youth of the state. It said financial capability and experience would be the criteria for determining the eligibility of the bidder, while the state government shall act as facilitator and provide external infrastructural facilities only.

Officials at the Himachal chief minister’s office told FE that at least 12 companies have shown interest in preparing a plan and determine the costs for setting up the state’s first IT hub. These include DLF Universal, Parsvanath Developers, SKIL Infrastructure, RVRCL Infrastructure, Uppal Housing, Maheshwari Mega Ventures and Omaxe Infrastructure City Development, among others

The proposed IT hubs would be in addition to a nano biosystem technology park to be set up at Aduwal near Nalagarh in Solan district.

 

RIL PLANS SEZ AT MOHALI
Chandigarh
The Tribune

Reliance Industries (RIL) and YellowStone Infra is coming up with an IT SEZ in Mohali. The SEZ will have Satyam Computers as its anchor company.

An official press release said they were in the process of land acquisition for the company, and the project will be launched by October this year. “The SEZ will be spread across 125 acres. We have already got the change in land use (CLU) and have acquired more than 50 percent of the land needed for the SEZ,” it said. The release further said that they were in talks with other IT majors like US-based ETech and CM Software, Amadeus Software and Moksha BPO for setting base in the SEZ. The total investment in the SEZ will be around Rs 940 crore. The promoters are also in talks with a leading hospitality chain to set up a five-star hotel in the SEZ.

 

S K BIRLA CO PICKS UP SPACE AT RMZ FACILITY
Sumali Moitra, Kolkata
The Times of India (Kolkata edition)

Commercial real estate major RMZ Corp on Tuesday said it has signed up S K Birla Group firm VXL Technologies as a client for its upcoming IT park project at Rajarhat and added that it stayed committed to put up 10 lakh sq ft of office space at the chosen site by next year.

“VXL Technologies has picked up 10,000 sq ft at our Kolkata facility. The deal happened very recently,” RMZ vice-president (leasing) Juggy Marwaha said from Bangalore, while not elaborating on the deal terms.

Incorporated in 1966, VXL Technologies is an active player in the networking and communications arena. While its design centre is based in Birla Buildings in Kolkata, manufacturing operations are undertaken from Faridabad. “We will move part of the Faridabad operations to the RMZ facility so that there is better coordination between the design centre and the manufacturing function,” Birla Eastern president B D Bose said.

“At a time when a lot of companies are moving out of Kolkata, the move is a demonstration of our faith in the city,” Bose added. Birla Eastern is one of the holding entities of the S K Birla Group.

“We will be ready with our first building of 1.8 lakh sq ft by September, of which 1.3 lakh sq ft has been already booked by McNally Bharat Engineering (jointly owned by the B M Khaitan and GP-C K Birla groups), and 30,000 sq ft has been earmarked for an incubation centre,” Marwaha said. “Construction is already on at another building of 2 lakh sq ft, which should be in place by November,” he added.

IT SEZ Real Estate: 20/7/09

DLF LOOKS FOR A WAY OUT OF RS 1,500 CRORE CHENNAI SEZ
D Govardan, Chennai, July 20, 2009
Financial Chronicle

DLF wants to get out of the Rs 1,500 crore IT SEZ project at Taramani in Chennai.

The company has asked the state government and Tidco to either call a re-tender at the original base price fixed for non-SEZ commercial activity, or refund the Rs 725 crore it had paid last year while taking possession of 26.64 acres on a 99-year lease.

DLF had planned to develop 4.5 million sq ft space along with the state-owned Tidco. The first phase of 2.5 million sq ft of processing area was to be ready by the end of 2009.

Among the reasons listed by the company for its demand is the delay in getting SEZ status for the special purpose vehicle, DLF Info Park Chennai (Developers), due to lack of contiguity of the land parcel.

The Tamil Nadu development commissioner for SEZs had cited the presence of a mass rapid transport system (MRTS) railway line that divides about a 3-acre chunk from the main land parcel for not recommending the SEZ status.

“Tidco had obtained the SEZ approval for the site even before it opened the price bids. The MRTS line existed even then. If Tidco could get the approval, how come DLF is now harping on the issue of non-contiguity of the land parcel,” a senior state government official said, when contacted by Financial Chronicle

He was skeptic about DLF being refunded Rs 725 crore.

“The company may have changed its plans due to the economic slowdown and the need to preserve or get back the cash,” the official added.

Tidco had invited bids for the IT SEZ project at Taramani in September 2007. DLF bagged the bid and signed a formal agreement with Tidco on April 23, 2008. It paid Rs 725 crore ahead of the July 31, 2008 deadline.

Other reasons cited by DLF include the refusal of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to entertain DLF’s project plan and also a right-of-way claim by Ascendas IT Park for an 18-metre road.

According to the company, the land and the board of approval’s clearance have not been transferred to the SPV and remain in Tidco’s name. Several other approvals, including environment and airport height restriction clearances had been taken in the SPV’s name.

A way out now for DLF could be to seek extension of deadline for implementing the project.

“The 99-year lease period offers enough cushion for any level of commercial activity and viability,” the official said.

VEGA KEEN TO DEVELOP INNOVATION PARK
Rahul Wadke, Mumbai, July 20, 2009
The Hindu Business Line

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s vision for an innovation park could be made a reality thanks to an Italian company.

Venice Gateway for Science and Technologies (Vega), which undertakes industrial research for companies back home, is keen on developing a similar one in Maharashtra. MMRDA’s model would typically involve an investment of Rs 1,000 crore across 2,000-3,000 acres near Mumbai.

Vega has linked universities, centres of excellence and the manufacturing sector to sharpen the competitive edge of Italian companies in the global market. Over 200 companies have established their offices in the park.

The park will serve as an incubation zone for nanotechnology and biotechnology. “Our talks are at a nascent stage, but such parks could come up near Panvel or Lavasa near Pune. MMRDA could enter a joint venture with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and other private sector companies for this exercise. It is now working on the techno-economic feasibility study,” said Ratnakar Gaikwad, Commissioner of MMRDA.

Giorgio Mattiello, International Projects Advisor (Innovation Area), Vega said, “We want to build on the experience of the Venice park and create a similar model that can meet local requirements.”