Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala government will invest Rs 330 crore for development of Information Technology (IT) infrastructure in the next 18 to 30 months and set up an IT corridor, apart from projecting it as the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) destination of the country, to attract global and domestic players to set up shop in the state.

"With the state having two submarine cable landing points in Kochi, bandwidth for setting up IT corridor and BPO operations is available. But we don't have adequate infrastructure to offer, which will be developed on a priority basis," Kerala IT Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said on July 20.

Five major companies are also planning to set up base in Kerala, hence the need to provide a conducive climate on a war-footing, she said. However, Sundararajan declined to name the firms citing non-disclosure agreements with "some of them".

The state would spend Rs 30 crore, of the total Rs 330 crore earmarked, to build a new IT facility at the Kerala Export Promotion Industrial Park (KEPIP) in Kochi, which is expected to be commissioned by February 2004, she said, adding the new facility would be mainly for BPO operations.

Another Rs 100 crore would be pumped in for development of infrastructure at KEPIP park, to provide a ambience like that of Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram, she added.

With the submarine cables SAFE and SEA-ME-WE-3, having landing points only in Kochi in India, around 75 per cent of Internet traffic is routed through the city, she said.

This has resulted in an increase in demand for space and infrastructure in the city, she added. The Kerala government has already sold around 80,000 sq feet in KEPIP park during this year, compared to the meagre 5,000 sq ft sold earlier, she added.

Meanwhile, on the plans for Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital, she said the state would invest Rs 200 crore for development of infrastructure and land acquisitions.

"We plan to develop the area from Technopark to Akkulam in the capital as an IT corridor, for which land acquisition is on," the IT Secretary said, adding the state would acquire around 200 acres of land. The corridor would primarily focus on IT services, including specialised services like animation, graphics and software development, Sundararajan said.

"The state capital has an engineering and IT institution, apart from the proposed Film and Video Park coming up near here," she said, explaining the prospects of focusing on specialised IT services. On the state's long-term initiatives, Sundararajan said a bigger IT corridor would be built connecting the three coastal districts - Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam - for which plans are on.

This would take some time, as we plan to develop it on a phase-by-phase mode, she added. On the state's chances against other competitors as the IT destination in the country, she said fully burdened BPO operational costs would amount to $ 8 per hour, compared to the national average of $ 15 per hour.

"Fifty per cent start-up and operational costs compared to other states, 60 per cent compared to metros, are other advantages," she said.

PTI