Kamal Ghorui
Visakhapatnam: IT giants IBM and Capgemini are eyeing Visakhapatnam as a key destination, signalling a boost to the city’s growing IT and technology ecosystem.. Interestingly, IBM India Private Limited is returning to Vizag after six years, registering recently with the Software Technology Park of India (STPI). Capgemini, meanwhile, is planning a permanent campus in the port city.A key meeting between the state IT minister Nara Lokesh, and Capgemini senior officials on March 12 would give more clarity on the land allotment and temporary campus, besides other related issues.
IBM’s projected exports are Rs 321 crore for three years, and it would initially accommodate more than 500 employees. It is recalled that IBM had a campus on Hill No 3 of the IT SEZ in Madhurawada. It was housed on 3.2 acres out of a 25-acre campus, earlier owned by Kenexa. IBM returned the remaining 21.8 acres of land to APIIC, which recently allotted the land to TCS. Representatives of Capgemini visited the Kommadi and Anandapuram areas, on the outskirts of the port city, for suitable land of above 25 acres to set up its campus. The company also requested the state govt to allot land for its campus, and the govt reportedly promised to do so. The IT giant would provide AI technology services from the permanent campus, which will accommodate around 4,000 employees, sources said.Meanwhile, the company is reportedly planning to start operations in a temporary campus near the RTC complex, where earlier IBM and other companies operated. IT sources said that Capgemini’s top officials would visit the port city in a week or two to finalise the issue. The IT Association of Andhra Pradesh (ITAAP) former president Sridhar Kosaraju told TOI that Capgemini is focusing on Vizag, and talks are going on at the state level, while IBM is coming to the port city.The district collector, MN Harendira Prasad, told TOI that Capgemini representatives came and visited a few plots of land. “It’s in a preliminary stage, and we don’t have any information about their temporary campus. No one from IBM approached the district administration. Maybe the talks are going on at the state level. We also came to know that IBM registered with STPI,” he said.
