Govt Looks At Towns As Bangalore Hits Dead End

IT’s on in Mysore, Mangalore
Govt Looks At Towns As Bangalore Hits Dead End
The Times of India

Bangalore: The IT city has hit a dead end: Real estate rates have spiralled seven times, government land is full and IT firms have no space to set up shop in Bangalore.

Bangalore’s loss is being turned into Mysore and Mangalore’s gain.

Contrary to projections, demand for land in Bangalore is still endless, despite the traffic and infrastructure difficulties. Every inch of the 1,400 acres in Electronics City Phases I, II, III and at the Export Promotion Industrial Park at Whitefield has already been snapped up.
But further growth is hit: Private land costs Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 crore an acre, keeping it out of all but the deepest pockets. KIADB’s plans to offer 800 acres for IT, from Bommasandra-Jigani to Electronics city Phase IV has hit a roadblock — the Green Belt imposed around Bangalore.

Officials said unless the government decides to relax the Green Belt restrictions, there is no land. “But we are not turning IT companies away. We have found a solution to stop the flow of capital to Chennai, Pune or Hyderabad by offering them land and facilities in our secondary cities, Mysore and Mangalore,’’ KIADB CEO B.A. Harish Gowda said.

The proposal has caught the fancy of most companies that have approached the KIADB. Gowda said at least 20 companies had expressed serious interest in both cities.

The magnet is: IT leaders Infosys and Wipro have opted to go to both Mysore and Mangalore. Infosys has set up shop in a sprawling 300-acre campus in Mysore and is taking another 312 acres in Mangalore; Wipro has sought land in both cities.
Besides, land at Mysore and Mangalore costs a fourth the rate in Bangalore: A mere Rs 15 lakh per acre against Rs 60 lakh in any of the Silicon City’s industrial estates.

Another IT requirement — cosmopolitan atmosphere — is increasingly met by both Mysore and Mangalore. They also boast of premier educational institutions leading to easy availability of trained personnel.

The clincher, however, is: “Infrastructure at Mysore and Mangalore will be superior to Bangalore. The surroundings are tree-filled, the area planned with wide roads, good water, power supply,’’ Gowda said.

What’s on offer
Mangalore: A 202-acre IT park on the banks of Gurupur river; further up the coast, the IT Special Economic Zone offers 312 acres.
Mysore: A 217-acre IT area abutting the Infosys campus; another 231 acres is near the proposed Wipro campus. Both are linked to highways around Mysore and the Outer Ring Road.