Tier-two cities in Tamil Nadu are fast emerging as new IT destinations, with a number of projects aimed at attracting IT investment nearing completion in cities like Madurai, Coimbatore and Trichy.

Initiatives have already been taken up to set up an information technology park in Coimbatore on the lines of Chennai's Tidal Park. Similarly, the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu is setting up two IT parks in Madurai and Trichy, which are expected to get the status of special economic zones.

In Trichy, about 135 acres of government land had been transferred to Elcot for the purpose of establishing IT parks. Sources in Elcot told Business Standard that the corporation had acquired 135.04 acres at Navalpattu on the outskirts of the city, where it would set up an IT park soon.

The corporation has submitted a proposal to the government to declare the park as a special economic zone for IT and IT-enabled services. Elcot plans to construct a built-up area of about one million square feet.

Navalpattu, situated on the Trichy-Pudukkottai highway, was chosen for the project considering its proximity to the Trichy International Airport. Elcot is looking at the possibility of acquiring more land near the site for future expansion.

With the completion of the ongoing expansion and modernisation of the airport and the upgradation of Trichy-Pudukkottai highway, the officials expect that the park will be able to attract huge investments.

Moreover, the rich talent pool in the city, which churns out not less than 10,000 graduates in the software and hardware sectors every year, is also expected to attract big firms.

Meanwhile, Elcot has also completed the acquisition of land in Madurai to set up another IT park. Sources said that the state government had already transferred 8.81 hectares of land in Ilandhaikulam near Pondikudi and 16.02 hectares at Kinnimangalam near the Madurai Kamaraj University, to the corporation.

Elcot sources said that a plug-and-play facility, similar to the one at the Tidal Park, would also be created in the proposed IT Park at Madurai, the construction of which will begin soon. They claimed that 50 per cent of the booking for space in the park was already over.

The Trichy City Corporation is also making all efforts to utilise the Centre's Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns as well as the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme. Under the UIDS programme, the Centre would provide 80 per cent of the project cost as grants, while the state and city corporations would contribute 10 per cent each.