Shimla, Sep 18 - Himachal Pradesh is developing its first information technology park near here, a senior government official said Friday.

'We are developing an IT park over 63 acres near Waknaghat in PPP (public-private partnership) mode. Tenders have been floated for setting up the park,' Principal Secretary (IT) B.K. Agarwal told IANS.

Waknaghat, located near the Chandigarh-Shimla highway in Solan district, is about 30 km from here.

The government will spend Rs.50 crore for developing infrastructural facilities like road network and power supply, Agarwal said.

The park would be leased out to a private developer for 80 years and the developer would be responsible for designing and developing buildings and units and providing utilities and amenities to the users, said the official.

'The concept of the project is to set up an IT destination comprising core IT activity and value adds like residential, commercial and social infrastructure.'

As many as 23 major IT companies have already established their facilities in Himachal Pradesh.