Hyderabad: IT minister K.T. Rama Rao on Wednesday said that the IMAGE Tower, developed by the Telangana government to boost animation, gaming and visual effects sector, would be open by 2022. This facility, he said, would rival MediaCityUK in the United Kingdom and Digital Media City in Seoul, South Korea.
It may be recalled that work on IMAGE Tower had begun in 2017 and was originally expected to be finished by late 2019 or early 2020. It is expected to cost Rs 1,000 crore and occupy 16 lakh sq ft.
Mr Rama Rao was speaking at the inauguration of a gaming, entertainment and media expo in the city. He said that the state government wanted to make Telangana a hub for the South Asian industry in the gaming, technology and entertainment space.
“We have announced a host of incentives to support the gaming and animation industry. This includes capital investment subsidy, recruitment assistance and exemption of entertainment tax. We will formulate a tailor-made policy for marquee names and mega investors. We will meet or beat any offer you have from any state,” he said.
The minister noted that Hyderabad has over 150 companies working on VFX, animation and gaming, employing over 30,000 people. “Close to Rs 2,000 crore worth of content is being developed out of Hyderabad,” he said.
Mr Rama Rao said importance will be given to tier-2 and tier-3 cities in the state. The Telangana Academy of Skill and Knowledge (TASK) will collaborate with the industry for training and education programmes.
“It would be ideal if companies picked up talent from tier-2 and tier-3 cities,” he said.
