Having emerged as an attractive IT investment destination, the Government Cyberpark and UL Cyberpark developed by the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS) in Kozhikode have joined hands to create over 1,500 new jobs this year.
This will be done in tandem with other major IT parks, fuelling the growth in the Malabar region, John M. Thomas, CEO, Kerala State IT Parks, told mediapersons here on Thursday.
The Cyberpark, which had started with just four companies back in 2014-15, now boasted 65 companies and about 1,100 direct employees.
“The existing building, which is predominantly covered under the provisions of the Special Economic Zone, is 75% occupied and is expected to be full by March or April,” he said.
Mr. Thomas said that a proposal was before the government for a new non-SEZ IT building with a built-up space of 4 lakh sq.ft. The total investment would come to ₹200 crore, providing direct employment to 3,500 persons, he said.
Addressing the media, Raveendran Kasthuri, Group CEO, ULCCS Ltd, said that the UL Cyberpark had scripted a growth story of its own over the years. “We now have over 80 companies employing over 2,000 and are eyeing another 1500-odd jobs in the next couple of years. We also reported a remarkable export value of ₹37.66 crore in 2020-21. It is a matter of privilege for us to partner with Cyberpark in their efforts to significantly enhance the footprint of Malabar in the success story of Kerala IT,” he said.
Mr. Thomas said that the collective revenue through exports from the three IT Parks in the State stood at ₹15,100 crore last financial year. “And software exports from the companies operating out of Cyberpark have increased from ₹14.76 crore in 2019-20 to ₹26.16 crore in 2020-21,” he said.
Kozhikode, he said, was poised for even greater growth in the years to come both because of the aggressive expansion plans of the existing IT companies and new ones setting up IT footprint, including home-grown startups.
Talent pool, connectivity with access to cities such as Bengaluru and countries in the Middle East had aided in accelerating the growth of the Cyberparks in Kozhikode, both said, adding that the focus was also improving the eco-systems to facilitate major IT firms.
