Elcot board delays IT Park phase-II expansion project

Trichy: Even five months after finishing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the construction of  Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot) IT Park phase II, no significant development has been made to tap the increasing demand for office space in Trichy.
While the IT and ITeS firms are keen on expanding their operations here to utilize the low operational cost and availability of the human resource, the delay in commencing the work on phase II is pulling back the city’s growth.
As the existing 60,000 square feet office space at Elcot IT Park at Navalapattu, situated 8 km from the Trichy airport, was completely occupied two years ago, a proposal to expand the office space was suggested in July 2018. Though the DPR preparation for phase II to provide 1 lakh square feet of office space was completed in December, 2018, the Elcot board is yet to give sanction for the expansion project. The proposed design by a consultant for the building, a three-tier facility, was approved. But, the board’s administrative sanction is still awaited to float a tender for executing the work.

“Already IT firms are in a desperate state to get more office space in Trichy. Not sure whether the delay was deliberate, but such a situation is retarding the growth rate of the most liveable and clean city in the state,” V B Jaganath, member, Trichy Intra-City Development Endeavours (TIDES), said. The local people expressed their dissatisfaction over the delay in materializing the development projects. They blamed the elected representatives for failing to persuade the officials to complete the projects on time. Turning down the allegations about partiality, officials with Elcot sited the model code of conduct, which was in effect for general election 2019, for the delay.
Sources said that Elcot may take four to five more months to render the administrative sanction, which is mandatory to float a tender to launch the civil work for phase II. “It is true that the demand for office space is huge in Trichy. We are hopeful to commence the civil work in four months, the delay was due to the general elections,” an official with Elcot said. While the existing office space at the IT Park at Navalpattu employs around 1,000 people, the proposed phase II is likely to employ at least 2,500 people.