MANILA, Philippines?Giant conglomerate Tata Group of India is setting up call center operations here, with an initial capacity of 250-300 seats.

According to Jonathan de Luzuriaga, executive director for industry affairs for the Business Processing Association of the Philippines, the Indian group was currently conducting a due-diligence study in the country.

?They?ve been badly burned by the talent shortage in India, so they?re looking at the Philippines as a new location,? he said of Tata and many other Indian business process outsourcing firms. ?A lot of Indian BPOs are really looking at setting up shop here.?

For Tata?s call center facility, he said the group was looking at areas in the Visayas and Mindanao.

?The trend of site-hunting now has tipped. It?s now Mindanao first, Visayas second, and Luzon third. They know that Metro Manila is already very congested, so they?re looking at the ?Next Wave Cities? for their investments,? he said.

The Commission on Information and Communications Technology yesterday launched its Cyber Corridor Roadshow, a 10-city tour of local areas best suited to BPO operations.

The roadshow would also be done simultaneously with BPAP?s Talent Caravan in the so-called Next Wave Cities.

Included in the roadshow and talent caravan are Metro Laguna, Metro Cavite, Iloilo, Davao, Bacolod, Angeles-Clark-Mabalacat in Pampanga, Baliuag-Marilao-Meycuayan in Bulacan, Malolos-Calumpit also in Bulacan, Cagayan de Oro, and Lipa in Batangas.

While focusing on the BPO sector and the career opportunities that it offered, CICT chair Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III said the roadshow also aimed to make residents of these cities aware of the overall benefits of ICT.

The roadshow, in particular, aimed to spread awareness about e-government, human capital development, information infrastructure, and cyber services, he said.

?The industry still has a lot of potential. This roadshow is not limited to job generation alone. We also want to focus on education, (small and medium enterprises) and local government units,? he said in an interview yesterday.