Multi-nationals show interest in "Knowledge City"

Bangalore, Oct 22 (UNI) A number of multi-nationals have evinced interest in setting shop at the proposed "Knowledge City" which will come up in Bididi, near here, in a 10,000 acre area at a cost of Rs 60,000 crore.

To be developed by the Delhi-based realtor DLF, around 2,500 acres would be taken up in the first phase of the project which aimed to decongest the city and cater exclusively to the IT sector.

On completion, the Knowledge City would be housing a population of 7.5 lakh and would be an integrated city providing all amenities, including housing.

Talking to newspersons on the sidelines of the launch of the Walchand Dale Carnegie Finshing School here today, Karnataka Secretary for Information Technology and Biotechnology M N Vidyashankar said at least 25 of the top fortune 500 companies had shown interest. He, however, declined to name them.

He said the first phase would be completed in 18 months once the 'letter of intent' was given to DLF after it made the necessary initial payment.

He said a number of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) would come up in the Knowledge City, which would have separate segments for various IT verticals, including Hardware, Business Process Outsourcings (BPOs) and core IT companies.

UNI