International Tech Park to expand in South

Bangalore May 15 (UNI) The Singapore-based Ascendas, a developer of International Technology Parks, has an ambitious plan of building eight million sq feet of IT Parks in the country, predominantly in south, within the next few years.

Owning the International Technology Park in Bangalore, which was fast expanding, besides those in Chennai and Hyderabad, currently Ascendas had developed an area of four million sq ft and additional two million sq ft was under construction, Company India CEO Jonathan Yap told newspersons here today.

He said the sixth building in ITP-Bangalore ''Navigator,'' offering 400,000 sq ft, would be ready by September and by the end of the next year, a 200-room hotel being built by the Taj Group and a Built-to-Suite complex, offering an area of 450,000 sq ft, would be completed. The complex, offered to a single client, had already been booked, he added.

As many as 126 companies, 50 per cent of them from the US, were currently functioning out of ITP-Bangalore with the total staff strength of 19,300.

Mr Yap said the capacity of the captive power plant of 12.5 MW would be enhanced to 20 MW and the total investment for the sixth building, including other infrastructure, was around Rs 150 crore.

He said with Ascendas completing development of half of the 69-acre plot in the Whitefield area, it was looking for a few other areas for development in Bangalore.

He said Ascendas owned two properties each in Chennai and Hyderabad and was in the process of expanding in both the cities.

When completed the total area in Chennai would be 1.7 million sq ft and in Hyderabad 1.5 million sq ft. Ascendas would also be looking for development of logistics business and building space for manufacturing purposes.

Mr Yap said it was also planning to go north of India, but declined to name the city. Ascendas was also looking to tier-II cities as the need for these cities was growing from IT and ITeS companies, he added.

He said with the IT park fund of Rs 1,000 crore fully utilised within the next five years, it would be incresed to Rs 2,000 crore.

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