Bengaluru to have Rs 5,000 crore Lifesciences Park

In a bid to generate employment, attract investment and bring in innovation, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is all set to lay the foundation stone for the much-awaited Bengaluru Life Sciences Park at Electronics City on Wednesday.

Bengaluru:The much-awaited Bengaluru Lifesciences Park, will be set up at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore with an aim to give impetus to the bio-economy of the state by providing required infrastructure to industry players, the Karnataka government said on Tuesday.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa will lay the foundation stone for the park at the Electronics City here on Wednesday.

According to state Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan, equipped with best biotechnology infrastructure, the nine million square feet Bengaluru Life Sciences Park will come upon a sprawling 52.27 acres at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore.

The project is being set up under a public-private partnership with the government of Karnataka and private entity Labzone Corp.

The first phase of the project will be completed by December 2022.

"Setting up of the Bengaluru Life Sciences Park was envisioned 20 years ago, when the Karnataka Vision group on Biotechnology was set up. The efforts put in by the Vision Group have finally borne fruit. This park will definitely showcase Karnataka, and Bengaluru in particular, on top of the
Biotech map of the world," Narayan, who is also in-charge of IT and BT & Science and Technology department said.

In Asia, Karnataka has a 9 per cent market share in the biotechnology sector, while in India, the state commands 35 per cent market share.

The state is home to 60 per cent of the country's biotech companies and bio-pharma is the biggest segment.

"We have about 380 companies and 200 biotech startups," the Deputy Chief Minister said, adding that Karnataka contributes over one-third of the BT exports of the country.

The Life Sciences Park is estimated to house more than 150 companies and is expected to generate around 50,000 jobs.

The park will have a dedicated incubation space with shared instrumentation lab facilities and customizable fully fitted lab and office suites.

The new life sciences park will be built near the electronic city area of Bengaluru and will be part of the existing space, that already houses Biotech innovation centre and other facilities, it will synergize both IT and biotechnology sectors, Narayan said.

"This is a public-private partnership. The government will get a land premium of Rs 109 crore," he said.

Stating that Lifesciences Park will offer a "unique" ecosystem, Biocon Chief and chairperson of the Vision Group on Biotechnology Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said, "There's huge demand for this park to come up, which will attract major biotech players from across the globe to invest and make use of this integrated park."

She said the endeavour is to put Karnataka and India on top of the innovation map of the world, and it is long overdue.

PTI