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Infosys' SDC to be set up in Thiruvananthapuram

Chief Minister V S Achutanandan will inaugurate the 'ground-breaking' ceremony of the proposed campus to come up in a 50-acre site on the Technopark premises here on May 20, according to an Infosys release here yesterday. The project was announced by the then Infosys chief executive officer N R Narayana Moorthy following talks with the then Chief Minister A K Antony at Bangalore in January 2003. It was one of the major projects clinched as part of the global investors meet organized by the United Democratic Front government.

Though the company started operations from the 'Bhavani' building complex in the Technopark immediately, they deferred the implementation of the project in view of the uncertainty over the establishment of the SmartCity.

Senior executives of the company viewed the dilly dallying of the SmartCity project as an indication of the negative attitude of the political bosses to private investors. Present Infosys chief, Kris Gopalakrishnan, opined that the Smart City would help Kerala shed over its negative image.

Infosys, which shied away from Kerala for a long time, was attracted by the large talent pool and lower rent and operational costs. The proposed centre is expected to offer employment to around 1,500 engineers initially.

The launch of the work on the centre also marks the take-off of the second phase of the state-run Technopark. Along with Infosys, the government has also provided 36 acres of land to US technologies for a similar centre.

The Federal government has declared the second phase of the Technopark as a Special Economic Zone. The government expects that the advent of Smart City would bring other IT players into the state. The government has proposed to set up a Technocity close to the Technopark to accommodate new units. The process of acquisition of 500 acres of land for the proposed facility is on.