Yaw(r)n: Biotech park all set to become a reality

Biotech park all set to become a reality

The Times of India


Bangalore: A layer of substance is being laid on Karnataka’s biotechnology hype. The much-touted but much-delayed biotechnology park, the dream of the biotech community, is about to be become a reality. The park’s foundation stone will be laid in June.

“The park will be operational within 18 months,” Karnataka’s biotechnology secretary M.K. Shankaralinge Gowda told The Times of India on Friday.

The state government has called for technical bids from builders, and have received expression of interest (EoI) from several real estate players. “Once we shortlist the contractors, we will call for financial bids,” Gowda said.

The park, called Bangalore Helix, is slated to house domestic, as well as international hotshot companies, and when announced was supposed to become Bangalore’s pet project. But controversies bogged the project down. The location of the park became a big subject of debate. The proposed location - University of Agricultural Sciences, near Hebbal, fizzled out with students and others mounting pressure on leaving the campus alone.

The future of the project then hung in balance with no decision taken on the project location. The IT&BT department, along with the Vision Group on Biotechnology, had been scouting for a suitable location ever since before finalising the plot near Electronic City.

The government then acquired a 100-acre plot in that part of town, made famous by the proximity to Biocon, India’s largest biotech company. Still, there was not much action happening on that front till Gowda confirmed on Friday that the project will kick off in June. Biotech companies around the world have often complained about Bangalore not having a biotech park despite being bandied about as the country’s biotech capital. With Bangalore Bio around the corner, this new development augurs well for the industry.