After a wait of two years, works for IT layout begin at Kapuluppada

Visakhapatnam: Nearly two years after the proposal to develop an IT layout was mooted by the state government, development work on the first-of-its-kind IT layout in the state has started at Kapuluppada.
Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) sources said the first phase of the project comprising an area of around 250 acres has been taken up for development at Kapuluppada.Sources said while the overall area earmarked for the IT cluster is around 1,350 acres, APIIC will initially focus on laying approach roads, installing streetlights and marking the plots for the integrated IT layout in order to attract tech firms to set up shop in the port city. “We are developing the Kapuluppada IT layout in a phased manner. We have started work on phase one on 250 acres. We will be laying the approach road and internal roads along with the streetlights and drains. The estimated cost is around Rs 20 crore,” an APIIC official said. He said the total plotted area is around 150 acres and the remaining 100 acres will be a common green area for layiout. “We are expecting around 30 plots to be developed in the 150 acres,” he said.
APIIC sources said the size of the plots will vary from one acre to five acres. Also, an area is being earmarked for commercial activities to cater to the IT layout. The IT layout is being developed as part of the state government’s plans to attract IT and ITeS companies to the port city. Sources said the development work is likely to take around one year to be completed. “There are several small and medium IT companies, which have already set up operations in the port city. There is already a demand for office space for IT and ITeS for which we have identified some space in the core city area. In addition to this, we want to develop the IT layout so that more companies look at expanding their operations in Vizag,” said an IT department official.