August 2010

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two decades since its launch as India’s first technology park, the Technopark here is aiming to be one of the top five IT investment destinations in the country, and offer facilities that would cater to the requirements of IT companies across the world. The foundation stone for the first building at Technopark was laid in 1991 by the then chief minister EK Nayanar, and in 1995 the then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao formally dedicated the facility to the nation. The project itself was conceptualized as an autonomous body under the state government’s IT department. In terms of the value of IT exports, the park may trail other locations but Technopark continues to lay claim to being the single largest IT par k in the country with a built-up area of 4.5 m sq ft, from where 180 IT/ITES companies operate with a combined staff strength of about 28,000. Kerala IT secretary Ajay Kumar says the state was among a few that withstood the recent global downturn, and that Technopark continues to attract international IT brands on the strength of its infrastructure offering. Over the past two decades, IT majors including TCS and Infosys have set up operations in the Technopark campus and the latter has set up its own campus over 50 acres in the Technopark Phase II facility, and presently employs 3,000 at the state capital. Technopark CEO Mervin Alexander says the park has been successful in nurturing a number of homegrown companies including Toonz Animation India, IBS Software Services, UST Global, NeST and SunTec Business Solutions. Alexander says the park is aiming to be a location that will cater to “any need of an IT company in every aspect”, and that it was estimated that by 2015 Kerala would have 2 lakh direct jobs in the IT/ITES industry, and Technopark would be one of the top five IT investment destinations in the country. The park offers a Smart Business Centre, a plug and play facility that has attracted international companies to set up their software development facilities, and houses the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kerala (IIITM-K). Technopark has acquired 92 acres of land for its Phase III expansion and 450 acres of land for setting up an integrated township in the fourth phase, named TechnoCity. The park is also developing a 44-acre campus at Kundara near Kollam, as one of the spokes for which Technopark will act as the hub.