Malaysia vying for projects in India worth billions: Samy Vellu

Kuala Lumpur, Mar 9: Malaysian Envoy to India and South Asia on Infrastructure S. Samy Vellu has said that Malaysia is vying for at least five mega projects in India worth billions of ringgit.

He said that the projects include the building of two highways, the expansion of a container port and construction of a new city centre, modelled after Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

"Since January, I have held meetings with both federal and state ministers and officials about infrastructure projects that Malaysian companies can undertake in India" he told reporters covering Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's official visit to India.

Vellu said that that the container port expansion project in Chennai alone was worth RM 10.5billion. He said that Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad was interested in building a city centre, like KLCC in Gujarat.

Vellu pointed that slum resettlement is another big opportunity for Malaysian companies and said: "We are proposing to build five-story low-cost flats for squatters."

He also said that Indian companies were also interested in investing in Malaysia, especially in projects that had already been approved by the Government.

Vellu added: "One such joint venture is the construction of an aluminium plant in Sarawak by a major Indian mining company. If this JV goes through, it will be one of the biggest investments to date from India."

ANI