HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh’s long cherished dream to set up an Animation City seems to be in perpetual hibernation with no private players coming forward to be part of the project. Citing the ongoing economic crisis as a dull period to attract investments, sources in the Department of Information Technology & Communications (IT&C) said the Government has once again put the project temporarily on hold.
``It’s not an ideal time to invite companies seeking fresh investments. We’d like to go slow and when the industry gets back to the normal growth rate, we’ll get active on this project. Meanwhile, if any private operator shows interest, we’ll certainly expedite the process,’’ a Government official from IT&C department told Express.
He added that the department is currently in the process of identifying land for the proposed project as the 100 acres allotted earlier in Sultanpur had run into a problem. According to a recent Nasscom report, the Indian animation industry clocked $460 million revenue in 2008 with a 17 per cent growth rate.
It pegged that the industry is likely to touch 1.16 billion by 2012.
In a bid to cash in on the growing opportunities in animation and gaming market, GoAP first chanced upon the idea of setting up an exclusive animation academy way back in 2005. It was to sign a tripartite agreement with Nasscom and the industry, but due to poor private participation, the proposal couldn’t takeoff.
Later in 2008, GoAP incorporated a special purpose vehicle -- Hyderabad Digital Media City -- to set up an Animation and Gaming city, with IT&C, Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and the Indian School of Business as stakeholders with 26 per cent equity in the form of land cost.
About 41 companies from animation, gaming, visual effects and digital entertainment sectors including FXLabs, DQ Entertainment and Suresh Productions have expressed interest to be part of the SPV. The proposed facility was to offer pay-per-use facilities to animation companies, film production houses, music and television studios. It earmarked 20 acres for construction of office space, incubation centres and common amenities to house animation and gaming firms, 20 acres for the animation academy and the remaining was parked for future growth.