Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Credit: PTI Photo
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurated the Rs. 35 crore Infosys Development Center in Visakhapatnam on Monday. The IT giant’s unit, built with state-of-the-art facilities at the IT Hill No-2 at Madhurawada, will house 1000 employees initially.
Addressing the Infosys staff on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that Visakhapatnam, a happening city with good facilities, has the potential of becoming a city like Hyderabad and Bangalore soon.
“Unfortunately, we lost Hyderabad due to bifurcation. Nevertheless, Vizag is the biggest city in the state and has the high potential to catapult into tier-one city. It is an education hub having eight universities including National Law University, four medical colleges, 14 engineering colleges and 12 degree colleges besides several Public Sector Undertakings and Eastern Naval Command,” he said, adding that it has also has strong port-based infrastructure.
He further said that the Bhogapuram international airport will also be ready in another two years.
The Chief Minister said he would be shifting to Visakhapatnam soon and the official machinery is looking for suitable accommodation. “I am hoping to shift in October but the outer line is December for me to stay here,” he said.
Companies like TCS and Infosys can change the face of Information Technology, he said, and added that more companies like Adani Data Cetnre and Submarine Cable Company from Singapore will soon come to the city spurring growth.
“I hope Infosys will create wonders in the path of development taking the lead for other IT companies to arrive here,” he said and wished the company good luck in its endeavors.
He further assured the top management of the company that the government is just a phone call away in case it needs any support.
Spread across 83,750 sq ft the Visakhapatnam Development Centre of Infosys will provide greater flexibility to employees to work in a hybrid mode, and closer to their home.
The new center will enable Infosys to also attract, re-skill, and up-skill local talent to work on global opportunities through next-gen technologies like Cloud, AI, and Digital.
“Aimed at bringing the workspace closer to Infoscions, this center will further our approach towards creating hybrid workplaces, and also offer new opportunities to the local talent pool. Visakhapatnam has developed into a favorable investment destination, and we are very grateful to the state government of Andhra Pradesh for extending their support as we commence our operations here,” said Infosys Chief Financial Officer, Nilanjan Roy.
He also inaugurated the unit of Eugia Sterils at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City at Parawada in Anakapalle district and the second unit of the Laurus Labs at the Special Economic Zone at Atchutapuram. He laid foundation stone for a new unit of the Laurus Labs and flagged off beach cleaning machines procured by the Greater Visakha Municipal Corporation. The machines will be operated on beaches at Visakhapatnam, Bheemunipatnam and other nearby beaches.