Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath has cleared the proposal of Wipro to set up a special economic zone for software development and IT-enabled services at Salt Lake Electronic City, Kolkata, at an estimated cost of Rs 125 crore (Rs 1.25 billion).

In addition to the Wipro SEZ, the minister has also approved the setting up of two new sector-specific SEZs for information technology and automobiles and auto-parts at Sedarpet-Karasur (Pondicherry) by the Government of Pondicherry, an official release said.

The zones are proposed to be developed over an area of about 600 acres at an estimated investment of Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion). The Pondicherry government proposes to create a special purpose vehicle to implement the projects.

With the clearance of the above three proposals, the number of special economic zones approved so far has increased to 36.

Of these, 3 SEZs have since become operational and another 2 are now ready for operation, the release said.