The Chandigarh administration has approved the allotment of 30 acres of land to Wipro Technologies Limited in the second phase of the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park.
Wipro would thus become the main anchor company of the second phase of the Park following Infosys Technologies which is the main anchor company of phase-I.
The administrator of the Union Territory Gen S F Rodrigues (retd) has approved the allotment as per the Chandigarh Information Services Park Rules to Wipro, which -- as one of the top three software companies in India -- is eligible for such allotment under the rules.
UT finance secretary S K Sandhu said in Chandigarh on Monday that the second phase of the tech park consisted of 125 acres of land for IT companies, comprising about 70 acres of allotable area and large green spaces.
The Technology Habitat being developed by the Chandigarh administration through the Chandigarh Housing Board consists of another 125 acres of non-IT facilities.
This is in addition to the 123 acres of land that is already part of the Phase-I and which has already been allotted to 10 IT companies, including Infosys and DLF Infocity Chandigarh Limited.
Sandhu said that basic infrastructure for the second phase is being developed by the engineering department of the UT administration and would be ready by June this year. This would include sewerage, roads, storm water drainage, power supply and street lighting.
Phase III of the tech park was also being planned over another 250 acres, following immense interest shown by more national and international IT companies. Adequate infrastructure is being provided to cater to the requirements of the occupants of the park.
Wipro is expected to set up a state-of-the-art campus at the park that will provide employment to a large number of engineers and other professionals in the near future. Wipro had earlier applied formally to the Chandigarh administration for the land after discussions were held between the administrator and Azim Premji of Wipro.
Wipro is expected to begin construction shortly after the formal allotment and sanction of building plans. This would provide a big boost to software exports from Chandigarh.
Ancillary level employment in large numbers would also be provided as a result of the advent of such companies to the tech park. It is expected that a large number of companies would show interest in Phase II following Wipro's entry.
A few other leading companies have already applied to the Chandigarh administration for land in Phase II. In Phase I, which had already been accorded special economic zone status by the central government, the UT IT department had sought applications for four more build-to-suit sites, following the successful allotment of nine such sites to eligible companies earlier.
A total of 25,000 professionals are expected to find employment at the tech park within the next three years. The prime minister had inaugurated the park in September last year, following which 500 professionals started working there, and another 2,500 are expected to be added by June this year.
