UK wants to be a genuine partner in developing India's Infrastructure

New Delhi,India, January 22,2008 - Speaking at the inaugural session of the UK-India Infrastructure Conclave on January 16, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), in Delhi, Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham,UK Minister for Trade and Investment said that his country wants to be a genuine partner in developing India's infrastructure and not just a contractor. Given India's rising stature in the global sphere, he also endorsed India's membership of the UN Security Council and the G-8. He said that several British companies such as Bombardier and Mott McDonald are already engaged in developing India's infrastructure. He projected UK as an attractive and open global financial centre, ready to share its expertise and participate in India's PPP ventures in the infrastructure sector.

Mr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India, agreed with Lord Jones in regard to special ties with the UK and enormous potential for British-Indian partnership for the development of sustainable and efficient infrastructure. He said that the lack of adequate infrastructure costs India 2% of potential GDP growth annually. He concluded the speech with two major points, stating that UK is largely underinvested in India right now in regard to what it should be and that India is awaiting and welcoming UK investments.

Mr. Gajendra Haldea, Advisor to Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of India, said that increasing investment in infrastructure from the current level of 5% of GDP to 9% by the end of the Eleventh Five Year Plan would imply an investment of $500 billion over a period of five years. The emphasized the need to attract private sector investment and the need for greater acceptance of PPP projects.

The Conclave was chaired by Mr. Vinayak Chatterjee, Co-Chairman of CII National Committee on Infrastructure and also the Chairman of Feedback Ventures. He said that there was a need to develop a shelf of projects for implementation by the public and private sectors.

The Conclave was also addressed by  Mr. S S Kohli, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Infrastructure Finance Company Limited,  Mr. Martin Harman, Chairman, Pinsent Masons, UK;  Mr. Arvind Mahajan, Executive Director, KPMG; Ms. Sharmila Chavaly, Executive Director, Ministry of Railways; Ms. Anna Roy, Director, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Ms. Punya Srivastava, Director, Ministry of Ports.   The conclave also hosted three parallel workshops on ports, airports and railways where the opportunities in these sectors were discussed.