By IANS,
Ahmedabad : Gujarat will witness an ICT (information and communication technology) boom thanks to its IT special economic zones (SEZs), said an industry official here Friday.
Addressing a conclave, Nirav Shah, president of the Gujarat Electronics and Software Industries Association (GESIA), said the IT SEZs would greatly help Gujarat’s economy besides generating IT growth, investments, and skilled employment.
“Having initiated interactions with various stakeholders to build ‘Brand Gujarat’, the GESIA is spearheading efforts to make IT in Gujarat truly ‘vibrant’,” Shah said at an IT, ITES SEZ Conclave.
During Vibrant Gujarat 2006, MoUs worth Rs.500 billion were signed, of which Rs.30 billion investment has already taken place, he said.
“In Gujarat, 25 SEZs are notified though 60 have been recommended. Only after a notification does an SEZ come into being,” said Ravi Saxena, development commissioner of Kandla Special Economic Zone, Gujarat.
“Gandhinagar needs to be developed like a Californian town. Gandhinagar is better than Bangalore and investors could be easily attracted. In Bangalore, you would take two hours to travel 5 or 15 km while in Gandhinagar movement is easy and it is a beautiful city,” Saxena said.
In his speech, Development Commissioner for IT SEZs in Gujarat Ajay Sharma said an IT-ITES SEZ may be set up in the public, private or joint sector or by the state government, the minimum size of a SEZ not being less than 10 hectares and a required construction of 100,000 sq metres with additional infrastructure facilities like uninterrupted power supply.