Karwar (Karnataka): Software major Infosys Technologies made a commitment to invest Rs 300 crore in expanding its Mangalore development centre leading a set of 30 investment proposals for a total of Rs 3,300 crore in the three coastal districts of Karnataka on the inaugural day of the Coastal Investors Meet in Karwar.

Delivering the presidential address, Infosys Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Nandan M Nilekani, who hails from Uttara Kannada district, said the investment would be made over the next few years to create 5,000 new jobs in the centre, for which the company has sought 25 acres of land from the government.

The Infosys Mangalore centre, Nilekani said, presently employs 1,400 people and exported Rs 400 crore worth of software last year (2002), ranking among the highest of the nine development centres of Infosys in the country.

He said the additional investment would enable to generate software exports of Rs 2,000 crore from the coastal city.

Expressing optimism over the growth of IT in Karnataka, Nilekani said, according to projections, the State's software exports would grow to $ 10 billion by 2007, from the existing $ four billion, contributing to over 40 per cent of the state's GDP (Gross Domestic Product).