Chennai: Tidel Park, the 1.2 million sq ft IT Park in Chennai, is talking to five-six multinational software companies who are looking for quality IT space in India. At least one lakh sq ft more is expected to be taken up before the inauguration, taking the occupancy levels of the IT Park to 60 per cent when it will be inaugurated on July 4, 2000.Tidel Park will be professionally managed and maintained IT park with facilities like back-up generators, air-conditioning, communication systems done by top international companies. So far about 42 per cent of the one million sq ft of office space available in the 13-floored IT park has been booked. Of that the lease-purchase ratio is 1:1. For booking, a company has to pay 10 per cent of the sale value if it is a purchase and one month's rent if the space is taken on lease.
Satyam Infoway and Pentafour have taken a floor each. Apart from that all the 44 small units of 4,545 sq ft and 6,500 sq ft have been booked.
According to major global real estate consultants based in Chennai, including Cushman & Wakefield, Richard Ellis and Jone Lang Lasalle, most MNCs prefer to wait till all the facilities at the IT Park are fully ready.
It is expected to fill up quickly once it is ready for occupation, they say. Some IT experts opine that facilities such as TIdel are best suited for MNCs who require readymade infrastructure and do not wish to be hassled by local considerations. Also, many software companies have not taken space at Tidel because they have put up their own facilities and do not have extra infrastructural needs at present. But Tidel has nothing much to worry about.
It can take heart from the experience of International Tech Park at Whitefield, Bangalore, which though a slow starter selling less than 30 per cent of the space in the first two years is now fully occupied. The IT Park in Hyderabad also had less than 25 per cent occupancy at the time of inauguration.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.