The Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) will shortly be commencing construction of 67,000 sq ft IT tower in Vijayawada. The tower will be coming up at the site allotted to the STPI in the Government Polytechnic College adjoining the Ring Road.
This tower will be the first of the three proposed in the same location. All the three towers are proposed to be of the same size and will be in a position to house over 3,000 employees each. According to sources, the towers will have five floors, in addition to the ground floor, with adequate parking space.
The design for the first tower has been finalised and approved, and the foundation stone is expected to be laid shortly. The contract for the construction of the tower has been given to the Central Public Works Department. “After the construction of the first tower, the other two will be launched,” say informed sources. Apart from the towers, the STPI will also be enhancing its present incubation centre from 2,000 sq ft to 6,000 sq ft, by adding two more floors.
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In tune with its policies to encourage more entrepreneurs in the software field, the STPI will be providing all the basic facilities for start-up companies such as infrastructure, technical services, and certifications.
A senior officer from the STPI says, “The basic idea is to encourage small-time entrepreneurs, and we believe that there is a lot of scope in Tier-II cities such as Vijayawada.” “We believe in plug-and-play concept, and even the IT towers will act as incubation centres, wherein small and medium entrepreneurs can move in with their human resources and start operation from day one,” he says.
The STPI in Vijayawada can provide a bandwidth of up to 20 MBPS and it is loaded with both optic fibre connectivity and earth station.
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The STPI made its entry into the city in 2001 with four IT/ITES set-ups. Today, it has 22 IT/ITES units under its fold. “The setting up of towers is a welcome move from the STPI. Hope this will open up the doors for many small players, both from the city and outside,” says Efftronics Managing Director and Krishnaveni IT Association convener Dasari Rama Krishna.