Bhubaneswar, Sept. 4: Information Technology powerhouse Wipro moved one step forward in setting up its software development centre in the city by acquiring land for its facility.

The company yesterday completed the formalities for acquiring 26 acres of land at Rs 12 lakh per acre to start work on the establishment of the centre.

In December last year, Wipro had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government to set up its software development and a BPO services centre here. The centre is expected to employ around 1,500 people. It will be set up at Infocity, an information technology complex on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.

Work on the first phase of the centre, comprising at least one unit with a capacity of 1,000-1,500 people would start shortly. It would be completed in two years. The development centre would entail an investment of Rs 150-200 crore. In the transit period, the company has its commercial production set-up at Fortune Towers, an IT centre set up by the government.

Tata Consultancy Services earlier signed an MoU with the government to set up an IT development and IT-enabled services centre at Infocity. It would employ 1,000 software professionals in the first phase. Software giants Infosys and Satyam have already announced their plans to enhance operations at their respective software development centres in Orissa.

Wipro?s development centre would accord Bhubaneswar with a unique distinction of being the only city in the East to have the presence of the ?Big Four? ? Infosys, Satyam, TCS and Wipro.

Wipro has also asked the government to take up the issue of a direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Bangalore with the centre. The lack of air connectivity between the two cities has held up several IT majors and upstarts, who want to move away from Bangalore.