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The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has urged the Karnataka government to establish an IT (information technology) park in Mangaluru to help develop an IT ecosystem in Mangaluru-Udupi-Manipal region.
In a letter to the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for IT and BT, KCCI said a mix of large, medium and small IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) companies within an IT park will provide the necessary thrust in creating an IT ecosystem in Mangaluru.
Lack of space
Isaac Vas, President of KCCI, said that there are more than 150 IT companies operating in the region.
However, not many commercial spaces are available at reasonable cost for these companies in and around Mangaluru. These companies have to migrate to Bengaluru for growth. They need to be housed in a suitable environment to achieve growth. He said there is a need to build an IT park with affordable rentals where many of these companies can operate, expand and have enough space for their growth in the city.
An IT park will also encourage larger IT and ITeS companies to set up units in Mangaluru, Vas added. He said this will ensure that the talent pool from the region will be retained and employed in the region. Moreover, the pressure on Bengaluru will be significantly reduced. He said the proposed IT park could share working space with multiple IT and ITeS companies.
Land identified
Stating that KEONICS has already identified a 3.25-acre land for IT park in Mangaluru, Vas said KCCI would like to work with the government to take this infrastructure initiative forward.
KCCI suggested that the IT park be built in two phases of around 1 lakh sq ft each with suitable infrastructure to support varied kind, size and type of companies.
Larger IT companies can be convinced to move part of their BPO operations from tier-1 cities to Mangaluru. Such a move could help reduce the cost for those companies that will also have the advantage of retention of human resources for a longer period.
“This mix of large, medium and small IT and ITeS companies within an IT park will provide the necessary thrust in creating the IT ecosystem to flourish in Mangaluru,” he said.
Huge talent pool
Stating that Mangaluru-Udupi-Manipal region has a huge pool of talent, Vas said there are limited job opportunities in the region, which has more than 20 engineering colleges and 100-plus non-engineering colleges with thousands of students graduating every year.
Vas said KCCI had worked with the government to set up a Centre for Entrepreneurship Opportunities and Learning (CEOL) in Mangaluru with the support of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The incubation centre of CEOL is now functioning close to capacity, he added.
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