Bengaluru to get Rs 5,000 cr life sciences park

The long-delayed Bengaluru Life Sciences Park is going to be reality as the state government unveiled plans for the $500 mn (Rs 5,000 crore) project, which aims to promote research and innovation in the biotechnology sector.

The park will come up on a 9 million sqft space in Electronics City, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan, who is the IT/BT minister, said at a virtual news conference on Tuesday. The foundation stone for the park will be laid by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday.

“When it comes to biotechnology, Karnataka has a 9% share in Asia and 35% in India,” Narayan said, talking about the state’s dominance in the sector.

“About 60% of the companies are located in the state, which includes 200 startups. Karnataka accounts for one-third of India’s biotech exports and is home to 54% of the biotech workforce. We have to commercialise and scale up for which we need such parks.”

The “integrated” facility will house over 150 firms and generate about 50,000 jobs, added Narayan.

The park will come up on a 52-acre land. “Totally, there are 86 acres, which includes the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB) on 10 acres, the Centre for Human Genetics on 10 acres and the Bengaluru Bioinnovation Centre (BBC) on 10 acres,” Narayan said. “By December 2022, we will have a building on 10 lakh sqft in the first phase.”

The project has languished for many years. Earlier this month, the Cabinet approved the park and entrusted its development to Labzone, a private entity. “This is a public-private partnership. The government will get a land premium of Rs 109 crore,” Narayan said, adding that the project will see an investment of Rs 5,000 crore.

The push for the project came from the state’s Vision Group on Biotechnology headed by Biocon executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

“When the vision group started, we conceived the idea of the park, where technologies will converge. Karnataka is already the leading state in terms of biotechnology and the goal is to put Karnataka on the global map,” she said.

She said the park will offer a “unique” ecosystem and expressed confidence that premier biotech companies from all over the world will get involved in the project.