Govt to allot 60 acres to SMEs at Vizag

MoUs between state government, 14 IT firms to be inked today

In a major boost to the small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) in the IT sector, the state government has decided to allot about 60 acres of land at Madhurawada near Visakhapatnam to SMEs.

The state government will be signing MoUs with 14 small and medium IT companies on Monday with regard to the allotment of land.

"We have allotted 3 to 5 acres of land to each company. On Monday, we are going to sign MoUs with 14 small and medium IT companies. Of the 100 acres earmarked for SMEs, at present, we will allot a total of 60 acres to these firms," a senior government official told Business Standard. The government is allotting these lands at Rs 10 lakh per acre as against the market value of around Rs 70 lakh per acre.

According to the MoU, the firms should be able to provide employment to at least 100 people on each acre of land.

"This means, if a company takes 5 acres of land, it should employ at least 500 people. The company has to draw up plans for the commencement of construction works within three months of acquiring the land, and also ensure that it starts its operations within a year. Only after this will the government register the land in the name of the company concerned," the official said.

Welcoming the government's move, B Prabhakara Rao, president of Visakhapatnam Information Technology Association, told Business Standard, "This is one of the major decisions taken by the government to develop the IT sector in Visakhapatnam. Currently, about 50 small and medium IT firms are operating at various locations here. Last fiscal, the software and BPO exports of these IT firms touched Rs 70 crore. In the current fiscal, the exports are likely to cross the Rs 100-crore mark. Of the firms that are going to sign MoUs with the state government, six are based out of Visakhapatnam only."