The Hindu Business Line : Stone laid for Infosys' second centre in Chennai

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, with Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys, and Mr S. Gopalakrishnan, Chief Operating Officer, when they called on her at the Secretariat in Chennai on Wednesday. Mr Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra (extreme left), is also seen. Ms Jayalalithaa unveiled a plaque to lay the foundation stone for a software development centre being established by Infosys at Mahindra City at Maraimalai Nagar, about 45 km south of Chennai. — Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai , Feb. 25

INFOSYS Technologies Ltd today laid the foundation stone for the software development centre it is establishing at Mahindra City in Maraimalai Nagar, about 40 km south of Chennai.

In the first phase, Infosys plans to invest about Rs 250 crore in the centre that will have a capacity of 1 million sq ft to seat about 5,000 employees. When fully developed, the centre will have a built up area of 3.5 million sq ft with 25,000 seats and a total investment of Rs 1,250 crore, according to a press release issued by Mahindra City.

At a brief function held in her office at the Secretariat today, the Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, unveiled a plaque to mark the foundation laying ceremony. Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys, and Mr S. Gopalakrishnan, Chief Operating Officer, and Mr Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, were present on the occasion.

It may be recalled that Infosys signed an agreement with Mahindra Industrial Park Ltd, which is developing Mahindra City, in August last to acquire 129 acres of land for its second development centre in Chennai. At that time, Mr Gopalakrishnan had told presspersons that when fully developed, the centre would employ about 5,000 people. One of the options Infosys would consider was to use the centre for its business processing outsourcing unit, Progen.

The Mahindra City press release quoted Ms Jayalalithaa as expressing happiness over Infosys' decision to expand its operations in Chennai and also hoping that it would serve as a harbinger for others to make use of the facilities at the park. Mr Narayana Murthy was quoted as saying that the new campus was testimony to the dedication and high quality work produced by the company's Chennai team.

The release said Infosys started its Chennai operations in 1995 and had invested about Rs 100 crore in the campus at Sholinganallur, along the Old Mahabalipuram Road. At Sholinganallur, Infosys had a built up area of 450,000 sq ft. Exports from the Chennai centre stood at Rs 742 crore for the year ending December 31, 2003.

Mr Anand Mahindra said that Mahindra City's anchor client, Infosys, and its investment in the new facility showed the quality of infrastructure that was available at the park. Mahindra City was being developed as an integrated township with an investment of over Rs 300 crore in land and basic infrastructure, the release said.