GAME city to create employment for youth

The 30-acre hub for gaming, animation and entertainment to give single desk space for young entrepreneurs, promises IT Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah The government of Andhra Pradesh is keen to use the latest technological innovations in the cinema industry to create skill development and employment opportunities for its youth, Minster for IT and Communications Ponnala Lakshmaiah said on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday.

"We are planning to set up a GAME city which will serve as the hub for gaming, animation, media and entertainment in the country. The city will be spread over 30 acres and its first phase will have an area of 600,000 sq ft where young entrepreneurs and developers can take even a single desk space. The GAME city will be equipped with the latest, state-of-the-art equipment and all the requisite software required for these activities that will allow our youth to launch directly into these activities," the minister said. The GAME city will be a greenfield concept with an incubation tower of 11 floors with the first three floors with preview theatres of 250 and 100 seats each. This will allow the young entrepreneurs to take advantage of all the equipment, software and other facilities which otherwise can cost a lot. The government will install these facilities and lease to the users at extremely reasonable rates so that they can thus literally start to work and deliver from day one," Lakshmaiah said. The State will spend about Rs 240 crore on the first phase which will be completed by the end of 2014. - IANS