BHUBANESWAR: The ambitious plan to position Bhubaneswar as an IT and electronics manufacturing hub has hit a roadblock due to delay in allotment of land and a shift in focus from the core objectives of the Infovalley project.
The Infovalley project, conceived in the early 2000s, was designed to offer state-of-the-art infrastructure for IT, IT-enabled services (ITeS), IT delivery centres, and electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM) industries.
Located on the outskirts of the capital, it was designed to complement the success of Infocity project which brought IT majors like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, and L&T Mindtree to the city.
However, delay in allotting land to upcoming IT, ITeS and semiconductor companies have raised concerns in the industry and investors circles about Odisha’s commitment to its original vision.
Sources said important projects by companies, including SiCSem Pvt Ltd, RIR Power Ltd and Heterogeneous Integrated Packaging Solutions Pvt Ltd already approved by the state government are waiting for the allotment of suitable land within Infovalley for a while.
While promotion of IT, ITeS, ESDM and semiconductor industries was the objective, a significant portion of Infovalley’s land has been allocated to healthcare, education and hospitality projects. Though these sectors are crucial for industry ecosystem in the state, over-allocation of land to such projects has led to delay in allotment of land to IT companies.
The delay in allotment comes at a time when both the Centre and the state are actively promoting semiconductor and ESDM ecosystem. Meanwhile, worried over delay in land allotment, the E&IT department has urged Odisha Idco to prioritise land allotment. It has recommended that remaining available land in Infovalley be reserved exclusively for IT, ITeS, ESDM, semiconductor and other related tech companies, besides exploring possibility of acquiring additional land on the periphery of Infovalley to accommodate future growth.
“Land allotted to non-IT companies and lying unutilised or under-utilised may be cancelled and institutions like ICFAI University and Narsee Monjee University where substantial land has been allotted but work has not yet begun may be shifted to other locations,” the department suggested.