TURA, Sep 15: After the success of the Shillong IT Park, work on another IT park on the outskirts of the town of Tura has begun with a major part of the groundwork already being laid by Badri Rai & Company (BRC).
The IT park project falls under PM-DevINE programme under the Ministry of DoNER and is being built at a cost of Rs 126 crore. The project was sanctioned in the month of January this year with 36 months being provided for its completion.
After the initial hiccups, work on the base laying began earnestly about 2 months ago with more than 100 company personnel engaged at the site to oversee operations. The park is being in an area of over 7 acres and is expected to be a game-changer for those with an IT bent of mind. “We are currently employing over 100 people and given that work is only going to increase, the labour force will also need to be strengthened. Our focus has been to engage locals into the workforce so that more people can benefit from this. At present, about 60% of our workforce is locals,” said Vikash Lahon, the BRC project manager at the site.
Lahon stated that serious work on construction began about 2 months ago and at present about 90% of the excavation work has been completed. Further another 50% of the RCC columns have been completed.
“We are targeting to complete the excavation as well as RCC columns by the end of this month as we want to complete the project at the earliest. After discussions between the senior management, we have set a target date of Dec 2025 for the project’s completion – a full year ahead of schedule. Our work is proceeding according to schedule and we are hopeful of meeting our target date,” informed the PM.
The official target date for handover of the work is Dec 2026 though the company was confident it could achieve the mark by Dec 2025.
The entire project will be of 4 floors with a total space of over 1 lakh sq ft. With the picturesque Durama Range in the background as well as the upcoming Tura Medical College a few hundred metres away, the IT Park expects to employ and impact at least 4,000 people after it is completed.
“This project is bigger than the first phase of the Shillong IT Park and has already helped employ about 3,000 people. The government is also drawing revenue of about Rs 35 lakh per month as rent. In fact, the entire park is fully occupied and that is why we expect this to generate about 4000 in terms of employment,” said a company representative.
“This project is for the benefit of the people of Garo Hills and that is why we want to complete it at the earliest so that the people can benefit. It will definitely be a world class set up that that state can be proud of,” added Lahon.
