VISAKHAPATNAM: Giving a new lease of life to the existing IT companies and extending an invitation for setting up new IT companies looking for plug-and-play facilities, the state government has recommended denotification of the Information Technology Special Economic Zone (IT-SEZ) on hill number-II of the Rushikonda IT Park.
Chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and IT minister P Raghunatha Reddy have signed the file recommending denotification of the IT-SEZ and sent it to the Central government for further action. The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, considering the repeated requests from the IT companies, has already agreed to denotify the IT-SEZ.
In order to create more number of jobs in the IT sector, the then Congress government identified some of the hills at Rushikonda and invited the IT entrepreneurs to set up their units in the city.
With a view to provide special tax concessions and infrastructure, about 25 acres area has been notified as IT-SEZ. Following this, the IT companies have rushed to Visakhapatnam and started their units.
The companies, according to the agreement, have been providing 100 jobs per acre. The IT firms do not have any right to lease or sell the properties, though they have title deeds.
Due to recession and subsequent decrease in projects, the small and medium-level players found it difficult to run operations in the entire premises. The bankers also refused to raise loans for these companies for expansion as they were running from a notified area.
Ever since, the companies are asking the government to denotify the SEZ allowing them to provide the property on lease to other companies or obtain loans against the property from banks for expansion of operations.
The TDP government, which recently announced its IT Policy 2014-2020, has sanctioned IALA status to the Rushikonda IT Park.
The IT companies have met the chief minister and IT minister urging for denotification. After considering the facts and requests, the state government sent the denotification request to New Delhi.
The significant move has been made in the wake of the state bifurcation and the government’s decision to make Visakhapatnam an IT hub, and propose the establishment of the IT Investment Region (ITIR) here.