Karnataka seeks Rs 7,010 crore Central aid for ITIR

Total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 14,200 cr and will be developed in two phases near the international airport

The much-talked Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR), proposed to be developed near the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), is estimated to cost Rs 14,200 crore in two phases, said S R Patil, minister for IT, BT, Programme and Science and Technology said on Thursday.

Replying to an unstarred question raised by R Jagadish Kumar, member of legislative Assembly from Hebbal constituency, in the state legislature, here on Thursday, Patil said the government has proposed to develop the ITIR in two phases. The phase-1 works will require an investment of Rs 1,650 crore and Rs 12,550 crore is required in the second phase. The investment is made towards capital expenditure and pre-operative expenditure, he said.

He said, main components of the project include land acquisition, development and creation of civil infrastructure, which are estimated to cost about Rs 14,200 crore. “We have sought the financial assistance to the tune of Rs 7,010 crore from the Central government. This will be used towards setting up of major rail link costing Rs 6,360 crore and widening of national highway at a cost of Rs 650 crore,” Patil explained in his written reply.

Once the project is developed through a public-private partnership, it is expected that a total of 1.10 million direct jobs and 2.87 million indirect jobs would be created, he said.

The Central government will create external infrastructure, while the state government in cooperation with the private sector develop internal infrastructure, he added.

The ITIR, the first of its kind project in the country, is being developed over a period of 20 years. “The first phase will take five years and the second phase will be developed in the subsequent 15 years. As part of the first phase, 2,072 acres of land will be acquired and the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has issued preliminary notification for the same,” Patil said.

Recently, chief minister Siddaramaiah said that the government would stand guarantor for the loan to be raised by KIADB for the purpose of land acquisition. Patil said ITIR it is an ambitious project, which has the potential to make the state a largest IT cluster overtaking Silicon Valley of USA.

The project has planned to be set up over an area of over 10,500 acres near the Kempegowda International Airport.

ITIR is an initiative of the Government of India in partnership with the state government to attract major investments in the IT sector. A demarcated area solely for the purpose of development of IT/ITeS and electronic hardware manufacturing units will be provided at ITIR.

In 2008, the Central government had released a policy for establishing ITIR and Karnataka government was the first to come forward with a proposal on setting up ITIR. The Central government approved the state’s proposal in 2013.

The land proposed to be acquired is situated about 14 kms from the international airport at Devanahalli.