Mohali, March 19 : Punjab’s Mohali city is fast emerging as a hub for large multinational corporations.

The city is an attractive destination for investment for being an emerging Information and Technology (IT) destination and also a centre for sports.

It was in the late 1960s when Mohali city came into existence after the trifurcation of Punjab and the establishment of its capital Chandigarh as a Union Territory.

Due to its strategic location and development of infrastructure, it is looked upon as the `future city’ of Punjab.

The city is presently heading for a major makeover with around 800 million USD being pumped in various projects by the state government.

A skyscraper World Trade Centre, knowledge City housing institutes of national repute, Fashion Technology Park, Integrated Sports Complex, metro rail and much more figure in the city’s plans for the next three years.

“We see knowledge-based drivers as economic drivers for this region, which include IT educational institutions and high-end research. For that purpose all kind of infrastructure is already available in this region like international airport is coming up. We have excellent train connectivity. Next come the roads. We have good roads in the region rather than the whole state and then technically trained manpower and if some people have come to the place to work in those industries. This is the most liveable place,” said V. P. Singh, the Chief administrator of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority.

Amongst the tier II cities in India, Mohali emerged as an investment destination for IT sector, attracting bigwigs like Infosys and Dell.

Already 260 companies have registered with the Software Technology Parks of India and 135 out of these are exporting their services actively.

In 2007-08, software exports from this region were a staggering 117 million USD.

Today, the existing infrastructure and skilled manpower offer many opportunities for investors in Mohali.

“When I came here the infrastructure was not so good. We started with 64 MBPS but now slowly and slowly the infrastructure has improved to an extent where any big company can think of coming here like Infosys is already coming here. Tech Mahindra is coming, Wipro is coming in. So, everybody who has a name they are buying land and construct their offices here,” said Col (Retd.) Anil Khanna, Chief Executive Officer, Seasia Consulting.

An emerging hub for small and medium enterprises, Mohali has over 1,200 businesses operating in its industrial area providing employment to over 100,000 people.

Many of these industries are engaged in manufacturing engineering goods, healthcare products and automobile parts.

“The work culture is very nice particularly for the industry. So that is helping us. You can have a well-qualified person here half-the-salary what you get in Delhi or in Bangalore. And you have all the facilities of a good city. So that makes it particularly for like ours – it is a labour intensive and manual work is being done – so we find this an excellent place to do business,” said P. J. SINGH, Director of Operations for Tynor Orthotics.

With the international airport getting clearance and several major realtors including Ansals, Emmar MGF and TDI developing mega projects, Mohali is witnessing an unprecedented urban growth.

The city also draws wide attention when it hosts International Cricket matches, as it offers one of best cricket grounds in the country. The game has given a boost to many other businesses like hotels and restaurants here.

Mohali is undeniably a city of the future and it invites investment in almost all spheres –industry, education, hospitality or infrastructure.

Mohali is rapidly expanding into greater Mohali and a plan to facilitate this development has already been prepared by Singapore-based Jurong consultants. (ANI)