The information technology (IT) infrastructure in Mohali is set to get a boost, as Quark City — Punjab’s first operational special economic zone for IT and IT-enabled services (ITES) sector in Phase 8B — will add another building on its 46-acre campus.
Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh will be laying the foundation stone on Wednesday.
The seven-storeyed building, which is divided into two blocks, will be completed in three years and will house around 30 IT companies, with the potential of creating 6,000 jobs.
The total covered area will be 4-lakh square feet, with five floors dedicated to the office space.
For Mohali, which received a big jolt after the US IT giant Dell shut down its international services operations in the vicinity of Quark City two years ago, the expansion is seen as a significant development.
Though at a nascent stage, Mohali IT City in Sector 83 is yet another potential zone that is in the process of developing into a big IT cluster after Rajiv Gandhi IT Park in Chandigarh. 46 IT companies have already been allotted industrial plots there.
Quark City’s chief operating officer (COO) Rajesh Sharma said the expansion will definitely cement Mohali as the preferred destination of Indian and international IT companies.
“When we began building infrastructure here in 2003, the city’s resources were at its nascent stage — be it the air connectivity or quality manpower,” said Sharma. “Years on, things are changing. With the Punjab government focusing on developing IT as a major trade, Mohali will surely generate more employment and business for country’s IT industry.”
At present, Quark City has two major buildings: Landmark Plaza and SP Infocity, developed by co-developer Shapoorji Pallonji. Both became operational in the past four years.
“Both house 53 companies from India and abroad and employ nearly 8,000 skilled workforce. The total export is to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore every year,” said Sharma.
Among major IT companies operating here are Emerson, Infosys, Fidelity, Bunge Ocrax, CHC consulting and Span InfoTech.
