Cognizant to invest over $200-m in infrastructure

CHENNAI: Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation today announced plans to further expand its infrastructure in India through an expansion of its existing real estate development program.

Through the expanded program, which includes the expenditure of over $200 million through the end of 2008 on land acquisition, facilities construction and furnishing, the company expects to build new fully-owned techno-complexes that will significantly increase its existing campus footprint in India with the addition of over three million square feet and a capacity for over 30,000 new employees.

As part of this program, Cognizant plans to develop techno-complexes and expand its infrastructure in five cities—Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune. The campuses are to be built in regions designated as Special Economic Zones.

The construction activities are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2007 and continue through the end of 2008. Besides the construction of owned facilities, Cognizant will continue to lease additional new facilities throughout India as required to meet its headcount growth requirements.

“Cognizant has grown faster than our competition over the last several years, and our strong pipeline reinforces our confidence in our future growth plans,” said Gordon Coburn, chief financial officer of Cognizant.

He added  “Our strategy of making ahead-of-the-curve investments in our people and infrastructure has established Cognizant among the top tier companies in the offshore outsourcing industry. As we plan for the next phase of Cognizant’s growth, we are focused on building the scale to address the needs of our businesses around the world. Building larger Cognizant-owned facilities in India is a key part of our strategy. We expect our new construction program will enable us to meet growing customer demand in North America, Europe, South America and Asia and continue to attract the industry’s most talented and best people.”

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