Wipro will be allotted 10-12 acres of land in Coimbatore for setting up a business process outsourcing (BPO) division. "We are developing about 30 acres of land for IT and ITeS industries in Coimbatore. Wipro will be given 10 to 12 acres of land there," an official of Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot), the nodal agency of the state information technology department, said.Wipro's entry into Coimbatore would be a big boost for Tamil Nadu in its efforts to develop second-tier cities like Coimbatore, Hosur, Trichy and Madurai for attracting IT and ITeS companies, he added."We have been told that Wipro is keen to set up its BPO facility in Coimbatore," he said.Wipro chairman Azim Premji had met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitaa recently to seek more land for expanding the company's operations in the state.Officials said Wipro Technologies, the IT division of Wipro, which was operating on a 15-acre campus was given the go-ahead for the expansion in Chennai. It is learnt that Wipro Technologies would expand the Chennai facility to a 100-acre campus. "The expansion in Chennai has already begun," the Elcot official said, adding the Tamil Nadu IT department was now keen to attract fresh IT and ITeS investments to smaller cities.By focusing on second-tier cities, the state government would ensure Chennai does not get "over-crowded" and face infrastructure problems in the future.Madurai, which is close to the publishing and printing centre Sivakasi, is an ideal location for e-publishing ventures while Coimbatore and Hosur have good potential for BPO in engineering services, the official added.
