OPI already has service centres in Bangalore and Kochi. Its new state-of-the-art centre in Kochi, constructed on a 137,000 square feet space at the Leela Infopark at nearby Kakkanad and will be inaugurated by Kerala chief minister, Oommen Chandy, on November 17, Kishore Mirchandani, president and chief executive officer of OPI's Indian subsidiary BPO Private Ltd, said.

The centre has the capacity to accommodate 2000 associates and is designed to provide the highest level of security and privacy, Mirchandani said. Earlier this year, OPI had launched a preliminary facility in the city with a capacity of 64 seats.

Kochi was selected following a search that looked at quite a few Indian locations. "We are optimistic about the skill sets it has to offer," he said.

Already 150 people have joined the service centre in Kochi, he said adding other than nine people who came from Bangalore to train other staff, the rest were recruited locally.

He said the establishment of the Kochi facility would enable the company to take advantage of competitive labour and infrastructure costs when compared to Bangalore and other large cities.

OPI has more than 850 associates operating through seven offices in the US and services centres in Bangalore and Kochi.