Asansol poised to emerge as an IT hub

With the

state capital seemingly getting saturated with IT parks and projects

in the vicinity, Asansol has emerged as a preferred choice for IT

following Siliguri, with real estate developers fast opting to build

upon the upcountry area. Taking the first opportunity in this aspect,

Bengal Shristi Group is on the verge of completing its township

project in New Asansol reserving at least 1 mn sq ft carpet area for

IT firms and BPO/KPOs to start operations in the area. Speaking about

the maiden project in Asansol, Sunil Jha, chief operations officer,

Bengal Shristi said, “There is an abundance of talent pool

available in the Asansol region with lower salary expectations.

Asansol has lower establishment and operational cost as compared to

Kolkata which is increasingly becoming saturated.” Adding to it,

Abhishek Bhardwaj, senior VP, marketing, Bengal Shristi, said, “We

have completed a phase of the central business district (CBD) in the

township and have equipped the area with all necessary amenities to

cater to the employees of the potential IT clients. Also, we are

going steady on the marketing and promotional activities of the

township and hope to finalize some deals soon.”

The project,

christened Shristinagar is a joint venture between Asansol Durgapur

Development Authority and Shristi Infrastructure Development

Corporation. Targeting mainly the BPO/KPO and software exporting

companies for the CBD, Bengal Shristi has also planned to opt for a

retail segment in the area with some outlets already operational. The

planned airport city, Aerotropolis, an integrated city with airport,

contemporary infrastructure for industries, logistics hub, IT,

hospitality, healthcare, education, retail and residential is

beingdeveloped by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL) at

Andal near Asansol which is expected to augment the growth of IT

companies in Asansol.

Considering

the sky- ocketing price of real

estate in Kolkata and the saturation point fast emerging in the

campuses of the software exporters, the upcountry area, namely the

townships having a history of industrialization and falling in the

strategic distribution line is holding the keys to the future of

business. Even the channel players in Kolkata have opted to expand or

focus on the upcountry for their distribution and retailing business.

On several previous notes, KL Lalani of Lalani Infotech commented,

“Increasingly, the channel market in Kolkata is getting soaked up;

although the largest chunk of my revenue comes in from Kolkata, I

would consider further expansion and focus on the upcountry markets

in the East.”

On a similar

tone, Asif Khan ofTechnocrat Infotech

said, “Upcountry market is huge and we (channel partners) have

began exploring the possibilities. Already, my branches in Ranchi and

Siliguri (upcountry markets) are fetching considerable amount of

revenues, and I would prefer to focus on the upcountry business

besides the regular one (Kolkata).” As a matter of fact, retailers

like Saboo Computers have also opted for the upcountry retail market

with divisions/showrooms in Barrackpore and Madhyamgram. With the

much awaited Shristinagar and the completed WEBEL project in

Durgapur on the horizon, West Bengal will soon be getting its next

second largest IT hub at the Asansol-Durgapur belt, providing for

another expansion spree for the IT channel space in the state well

equipped with the amenities for trade.