Seventeen private bidders have been short-listed for presenting the proposal for developing the Bio-IT Park recommended by the Department of Information Technology.

The Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) under the Department of Information Technology is planning to establish the first of its kind Bio-IT Park in India. Some of the bidders short-listed include Larsen and Toubro, Ascendas, Shapoorji Pallonji, DLF, IVRCL, Dubai Technology and Media Park, Unitech and Brigade.

Six locations that been short-listed for establishing the park include Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata and the National Capital Region (NCR).

Niranjan Vipradas, STPI, told Pharmabiz that the proposal has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Finance for approval, which is likely to be obtained by early January, 2006. The selection of a developer or a consortium of developers and the location can be finalised after receiving the financial approval from the ministry. The project can be taken up for implementation in two months time from the date of receiving the approval. The project will be carried out in phases, the first phase is expected to be completed by 2006-07.

The Central Government had earlier invited proposals from the interested State Governments that would offer land at subsidised rates and extend support, during the end of 2004.

The park is likely to be developed in an area of 100 acres to establish a cluster of IT and life sciences industries, research institutions and science-technology academia to address the IT related needs of the global life science industry. The cost of infrastructure development is expected to be Rs.100 crore, as per the feasibility report.

The park aims at providing a dedicated infrastructure for the Bio-IT industry and would position India as a leader in the global Bio-IT sector by fostering investment and innovation. The infrastructure facilities would include 90,000 sq. ft. of modern modular wet labs, independent plots for Bio-IT units, virtual networking with leading research institutions, R&D laboratories through a GRID network and high performance computational facilities.

The park will be developed as a public-private initiative. The Government of India through its agency STPI and the respective State Government would partner with the selected private developer to set up the park. The private partner would be playing the role of a lead developer and would be responsible for plan, design, finance, construction, marketing and operation of the proposed park. The role of government agencies would be limited to the role of facilitators, it is learnt.

Ernst & Young Private Limited has been appointed as project advisors for the proposed Bio-IT Park.