The Tamil Nadu government is seriously examining the possibility of commissioning an IT park in Coimbatore, on the lines of the Tidel Park in Chennai.

The state's interest in developing such an infrastructure in Coimbatore has emanated from a recent study conducted by international consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers on the prospects of developing Coimbatore as a Tier-2 IT city in Tamil Nadu.

Vivek Harinarain, the state secretary (IT), said, "The state is looking at the possibility of development IT infrastructure in Coimbatore similar to Tidel Park in Chennai. A special purpose vehicle would be formed for handling this project and the efforts of the state in this direction would be handled by Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu."

Earlier the Tamil Nadu government had announced that the Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem and Tiruchy would be the Tier-2 cities for development of IT infrastructure.

Harinarain pointed out that ITES/BPO had greater scope in Coimbatore.

"Software exports from Coimbatore are presently at Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion). The city already has several advantageous attributes like reliable power supply and well connected telecom services," he said.

With the presence of all the leading value-added service provider in the telecom segment in Coimbatore, developing the city as the next major IT hub is not very far off, he opined.

Harinarain added, "With over 50 advanced education institutions led by PSG College of Technology, manpower would not be an issue in Coimbatore."

The 'Tidel-like' software park that is proposed in Coimbatore is likely to come with a 5 km radius of the airport.

"Studies have shown that it would be favourable to develop such a park in the vicinity of the airport, as people would like get into the city, do business and get out," he said.

Harinarain added that the state has already looked at about three or four possible locations for the IT park in Coimbatore. "It is too early to discuss the financing model for this IT park in Coimbatore."