Punjab CM assures investors all support, cooperation

Chandigarh, Mar 14 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today urged industrialists and entrepreneurs, allotted mega projects, to ensure the completion of these projects within the stipulated time frame.

Addressing an investor's meet here late this evening, Capt Singh thanked them for their tremendous response to the government's initiative to bring fresh investments in the state. He said the total committed investment has reached Rs 57,000 crore and the actual implementation as per the last report touched Rs 4,000 crore.

The number of projects have gone up steeply after real estate projects were also included, today they account for over half of the total investment.

Capt Singh said the investment commitments on this scale never happened in Punjab earlier. The state went through a difficult time in the 80s and early 90s and that affected investment climate throughout the 90s.

''People are not used to such investment and so there is doubt in some quarters as to whether investment commitments would be honoured'', Capt Singh added.

Appreciating investors like Rajinder Gupta of Trident Group, and B M Khanna of Khanner Paper Mills, for investments in the state, Capt Singh pointed out that multinational companies like DUMEX and DELL have also come to Punjab.

He said that DUMEX project in Moga was at an advanced stage of implementation. On the real estate side, the Empowered Committee on mega projects have approved in principle, 38 projects to be developed over 9390 acres with an investment of 22315.44 crore in Mohali, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Laudhiana and Kapurthala.

UNI PS OM DB2158