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Land Assured, Wipro To Double Jobs In Calcutta From 5,000 To Over 10,000 In Next Three To Five Years

By Nishant, Section News
Posted on Fri Aug 22, 2008 at 04:23:50 AM EST

Wipro is gearing to double its workforce in Calcutta from 5,000 to over 10,000 in the next three to five years. The IT major is also planning to scale up its investments in the city.

Wipro's expansion plans in Calcutta, which had run into land trouble, have picked up pace after the state government assured speedy delivery of 90 acres at the proposed IT City behind Vedic Village.

"We expect to take possession of the land behind Vedic Village by the end of 2008 and start construction by early next year," said Suresh C. Senapaty, the chief financial officer and executive director of Wipro.

Wipro's expansion plans in the city - initially planned in Rajarhat New Town -- had hit a roadblock two years ago over the price of land, which led the chief minister to intervene.

After several rounds of discussions between the IT department and the company, Wipro decided to set up its second campus in the 1,200-acre IT City, 10 km from the airport.

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"The growth momentum of Wipro in Calcutta had a setback because of the delay in getting land for our second campus," said Senapaty, adding that the resolution of the land issue would put back the city office on the growth path.

The company's Salt Lake centre has a BPO unit and a software development unit, which services telecom, technology and insurance majors. "At present, we have 5,000-plus employees in Salt Lake. If things go according to plans, we will cross the 10,000 mark in the next three to five years," he added.

The company is also expecting a steady growth in business volume from the Salt Lake centre. "Our target is to grow by at least 30 per cent in terms of business volume," said Asutosh Vaidya, the head of Wipro BPO.

While the company is drawing up an expansion plan, the state government is working round the clock to meet the year-end delivery deadline.

Besides Wipro, Infosys will also be given 90 acres of land in the IT City. Though acquisition for the entire project is not over yet, government sources said land for the IT majors have already been acquired.

"The land is being developed before handing over to the companies. We are also working with a few other agencies to develop the necessary infrastructure," said state IT minister Debesh Das.

He, however, refused to divulge details of the price of land. Sources peg the figure at Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore per acre.

Source: The Telegraph 22/Aug/2008

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