Cognizant to invest over $500 mn in India

CHENNAI, INDIA: Cognizant, a provider of IT services, today announced plans to further expand its real estate construction program in India.

As part of the expansion program, Cognizant will invest more than $500 million through the end of 2014 to expand its owned campus footprint with the addition of over 8 million square feet, which will have the capacity to house over 55,000 employees, said a press release.

The real estate development program will create additional software development and training facilities in regions designated as Special Economic Zones in four cities: Chennai, Pune, Coimbatore, and Kolkata.

In addition to the construction of owned facilities, Cognizant will continue to actively lease additional facilities throughout India to meet its future staffing requirements.

“This current real estate expansion program is part of our ongoing strategy of investing in our people, processes, systems, and infrastructure to support our long-term growth,” said Gordon Coburn, chief financial and operating officer of Cognizant.

He added that they will continue to evaluate opportunities for further construction expansion over the coming years.