The company, which has holding the 78 acres of land for 25 years now, is looking at both Indian and foreign investors and is keen on developing it as an IT-SEZ. "This will be the perfect site for developing IT and it will be first in the area,'' said a top company officer said.

He said it cannot be looked as a multi-product SEZ as the requisite 1000 acres condition is not fulfilled. Earlier though Finolex was keen on a joint venture, now they are leaving it open to the investors.

However, they are not entirely ruling out the option. The officer was not ready to divulge any details on the investors who are being assessed for the development of this land. However, they company is going ahead to get the requisite sanctions for the SEZ in a month's time, he said. "Everything is in a preliminary stage and it will take some time for the picture to be clear. However we are surely disposing of the land for an IT-SEZ,'' he added.

Meanwhile, MIDC officials aid that if the requisite permissions are sought, it would be the first SEZ in the area. The other SEZs in Pune being the Bharat Forge SEZ, the Mahindra SEZ and the Videocon SEZ. MIDC officers said "All the permissions will have to be sought from the Central Government and we are given to understand that they will soon be initiating the process."

The Rs 950 crore maker of PVC pipes and fittings had been weighing two options for nearly a year-- either developing the land as an information technology SEZ or selling it and unlocking the value.