Kochi:
The IT corridor of Kochi is fast expanding into neighbouring regions with Infopark at Cherthala shaping up as a major hub for IT companies from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other Middle East countries.
Infopark Cherthala, which is being developed as a spoke of Infopark Kochi, has attracted mid-segment companies, mainly from Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE, by providing high in-class infrastructure facilities and leveraging its proximity to Kochi.
Currently, 15 companies are operating at the sprawling park which is situated on 66 acres of land. In this, 60 acres have been notified as the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which offers a slew of facilities and concessions to companies planning to set up their shops there.
The park has an added advantage of being equidistant from Kochi, Kottayam and Alappuzha.
"The Infopark Cherthala, designed for low cost operations, has emerged as a much sought after destination for IT companies from the Middle East. We are developing the park to accommodate more companies in the next two years. Tenders will be floated to invite private participation in developing IT campuses in the park", said Infopark Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hrishikesh Nair.
The park with its current 2.4 lakh Sq.feet built-up area offers plug-and-play facilities and warm shell options for companies looking for bigger space. The IT building has food courts, conference hall, discussion rooms and game zones. The park has its own 110 KV sub-station, a water treatment plant, storage tanks, internal roads and an effluent treatment plant.
"We will be soon scaling up our operations at the park by making substantial investments. The manpower will be increased from 50 to 100 in due course", said Bobby Kuriakose, Director of Kuwait-based Path Solutions, which provides financial software services like core banking and mobile and internet banking for Islamic banking industry.
"We opted for the park because of low operating cost and good infrastructure", said Deepu Krishnan R K, Manager of Bahrain-based Voyager IT Solutions, which has development centres in Bahrain and Singapore. "This is our first development centre in India and hope to expand operation in the next two years," he said.
The operational cost is much less in Cherthala when compared to similar facility in major cities. Besides the company could also source locally available right talent as per its requirement, according to Anoop Krishnan, CEO of Kuwait-based Webna Web Solutions Pvt Ltd.