Work on Government Cyber Park will start soon

KOZHIKODE: Giving impetus to the IT development in the Malabar region, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday stated that the construction of the first phase of the Government Cyberpark in Kozhikode will be commenced by the end of April and will be completed in a time-bound manner.Addressing the gathering after laying the foundation stone for the Software Development Building of UL CyberPark at Nellikode near here on Friday, he said tha IT was the one sector which needed more focus. “Government is giving special attention to IT development of the Malabar region and will try to bring more IT projects to this part of the state,” he said.He also said that the setting up of three IT zones in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode will enable the state government to focus more on the IT development when the sector was preparing for a giant leap in the state.Reminding that the state has missed the first bus in the IT development, Chief Minister further said: “As one of the most-educated states in the country, we should have been in the forefront of IT development, but unfortunately, we are lagging behind other states in the sector. Now the time has come for us to focus more on IT as this sector will see large-scale development in the coming days. Days should come when we are leading the IT sector in the country,” he added.Stressing the need to promote the IT revolution in the state, he further said that the IT sector in the country was witnessing two-fold growth than the United States of America.By 2020, the IT exports from the country will worth Rs 10 lakh crore from the present Rs 2 lakh crore.“We should make use of this opportunity and take the lead role in the IT development of the country. Today, there are a lot of IT professionals from the state, working abroad and in various parts of the country. Starting of new IT and IT-Enabled venture in the state will also provide more opportunities to these professionals in their own state,” Chandy said.Social Welfare Minister M K Muneer presided over the function. M K Raghavan MP, Elamaram Kareem MLA, A Pradeepkumar MLA, Chairman of UL Cyberpark P Rameshan, Corporation Mayor A K Premajam, District Collector P B Salim and others attended the function.