Odisha to scrap IT park pact with K Raheja

The fate of the IT park to be set up by K Raheja Corporation in Bhubaneswar is almost sealed as the company has not progressed with the project since it had signed a pact with the state government.

The Odisha government had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the K Raheja Corporation in 2008 for setting up an IT park in the Mancheswar industrial estate area (25 acres).

"We have to take a call on the issue as the designated time period for developing the project has lapsed," a top official of the state IT department told Business Standard.

The company has not shown any keenness in setting up the park as the land allotted to it is lying vacant for more than two years. We will now annul the agreement, the official added.

The IT Park was expected to generate employment opportunities for 12,000 persons in three-four years. With an investment of Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion) in the first phase, the construction was expected to be completed in three years.

It was to be developed in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode having 10 lakh square feet of space to be used by different IT and ITeS companies coming to Odisha.

We presume that they (K Raheja corporations) don't have any immediate plans to invest in Bhubaneswar", said another official close to the development.

K Raheja group, which is engaged in the business of infrastructure development, has the experience of developing Mindspace IT parks in places like Hyderabad and Mumbai.