Tourist hub to harbor Wipro facility

GOA: In what could be the turning point for Goa's sagging IT industry, software giant Wipro has shown interest in setting up a campus facility in Goa. This could be the first major IT investment in the state in the last several years. The other major IT companies operating in the state are Tata Infotech, D-Link, Zenith and ControlNet.

This was disclosed by the state IT Minister Francisco D'Souza in a written reply to a question asked in the recently concluded Goa Legislative Assembly meeting. The reply further stated that the 50-acre land earmarked for Hi-Tech Habitat project at Dona Paula Plateau has been taken over by the government from Infotech Corporation of Goa in view of this development.

It is learnt that the government has offered a major chunk of this land to Wipro, while a three-acre portion would be handed over to Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) to set up infrastructure facilities for IT firms.

Conceived a few years ago, Hi-Tech Habitat project could not take off due to lack of takers from the private sector. Bids were invited a number of times in the past for the development of the land into an IT Park.

A JV was singed between a Gujarat-based company Creative IT Inc. and the Goan government for the implementation of the Hi-Tech Habitat project. However, it was cancelled as the party "did not fulfill the terms and conditions of the Letter of Intent". In the latest move, InfoTech Corporation of Goa had initiated moves to appoint an experienced consultant to move the proposal 'in a professional manner'.

The land was neglected so much that a number of encroachments have already taken place on this prime land, which is facing the Arabian Sea. Currently, this plot is being used for fabricating concrete structures for the ongoing developmental work along Mandovi River in Panaji.

Meanwhile, the Minister also confirmed that the proposal of setting up Cyber City (IT Park) on Mandrem-Morjim Plateau was still on. According to him, the government plans to issue Section IV notification under the Land Acquisition Act shortly, to acquire land for the above purpose.