The Larsen and Toubro group has plans to expand its IT services in Bengal. The group could have around 15,000-20,000 people under its fold over the next 4-5 years.

Following up on the announcement of opening up of new centres by both group companies — Mindtree and Larsen and Toubro Infotech (LTI) — earlier this year, plans are now underway to have its own infrastructure in New Town, Calcutta.

“We have taken up 19 acres of space. The construction will be done by L&T,” said Mindtree MD and CEO Debashis Chatterjee at a CII organised event on Wednesday evening.

Chatterjee had been instrumental in pitching the idea of expanding in Bengal.

The group had earlier indicated that a combination of industry-academia ecosystem coupled with improved infrastructure and also employee preference had guided the expansion in Bengal.

The Larsen and Toubro board had announced in May a composite scheme of amalgamation of its two listed IT services companies to create a combined entity with a revenue of more than $3.5 billion.

Oracle plans

Bengal is also on the radar of multinational technology firm Oracle for a data centre project that could facilitate small and medium businesses.

“We are working very closely with the government towards creating a dedicated data centre for Bengal,” said Shailendra Kumar, senior vice-president, regional managing director – India, and of NetSuite JAPAC.