Infosys all set for Kolkata campus

In a major boost to West Bengal's industrialisation drive, IT major Infosys Technologies on Tuesday signed an MoU with WBHIDCO for a 50-acre plot to open a campus in Kolkata to provide job opportunities to nearly 15,000 people.

"Infosys today signed an MoU for a 50-acre plot close to Wipro site at Rajarhat for a total cost of Rs 75 crore (Rs 750 million)," State Housing minister and West Bengal Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation chairman Gautam Deb said in Kolkata.

Comments from Infosys were not available.

State's IT minister Debesh Das said as the completion of the connective road to the plot is pending the government has offered a relief to Infosys in paying instalments.

"They (Infosys) will pay 25 per cent as first instalment and rest of the instalment will begin after road connectivity is completed," Das said.

Wipro and TCS had already taken the possession of plots at Rajarhat in December 2009. With the formal entry of Infosys, Bengal gets all the IT majors in the state.

Das said Infosys has promised to begin construction work of the campus very soon.

Last year Infosys had postponed the investment plan in Kolkata campus due to global economic slowdown, but the project was never abandoned.

According to earlier announcements, Infosys had planned in 2004 to invest some Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) to set up a development centre in Kolkata housing 5,000 people.

The project got delayed and in June 2009 an IT township project in Salt Lake, Kolkata, was scrapped by the West Bengal government following a controversy on alleged forced land acquisition.