Kozhikode Cyberpark gets SEZ tag

KOZHIKODE, INDIA: The Kerala government on Friday announced that the proposed Cyberpark project here has been accorded the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status by the union commerce ministry.

With the SEZ status, companies setting up shop here will get various tax and credit benefits.

Cyberpark will provide space for IT/ITES (information technology enabled services) and other knowledge based industries, the state government's infotech promotion department, Kerala IT, said.

Located in the northern district of Kozhikode, Cyberpark is Kerala IT's foray into Malabar, or the northern region of the state.

"The notification is a major milestone in the development of Cyberpark and would act as a catalyst for significant investments in the IT/ITES sector in the region," Cyberpark's chief executive officer Binu Pazhoor said.

Expected to be completed by 2015, the project will create 70,000 IT jobs, besides over a lakh jobs indirectly.

Other infotech SEZs in Kerala are in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi.