Of the nearly 870 acres of phase-III of the Hinjewadi IT Park, the State Government has sought SEZ status for 500 acre. The rest would be utilised for amenities, commercial and residential purposes. The Pune IT industry had expressed concern over granting of SEZ status to only phase-III of Hinjewadi IT Park.

The industries secretary said they were also considering SEZ status for other parts of Hinjewadi, including phase-IV that will be developed. ``We have also sought an SEZ status for the 136-acre International Biotech Park at Hinjewadi and the over 100-acre Agri Biotechnology Park at Jalna. Both are public-private joint ventures,'' Jairath said.

The Hinjewadi BT Park is a joint venture between Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and the Chatterjee Group's TCG Urban Infrastructure Holding Ltd. ``It is proposed to house around 35 companies and 17 have confirmed the space. Already Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Shreya Biotech and Venkateshwara Hatcheries Ltd have their presence there,'' he said.
With the tax holiday accorded to the IT companies under the Software Technology Parks of India scheme getting over by 2009, the government is planning to attract big ticket investments to the State by giving SEZ status to specific areas.

In fact, Mahindra British Telecom has already signed an MoU with the State for setting up an integrated development centre and residential complex entailing an investment of Rs 300 crore to house 18,000 software engineers in phase-III of Hinjewadi IT Park.

Advantages of SEZ