An all-India express highway, thanks to Malaysia

The Malaysian government will submit a detailed proposal for building an 'all-India express highway' to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the next few months.

A part of the total investment required for the project would be provided by Malaysian companies, said YB Dato S Samy Vellu, minister for works, Government of Malaysia.

Addressing a press conference after inaugurating the three-day international expo-cum-seminar on 'Surface Transportation' organised by the All India Manufacturers' Organisation, Tamil Nadu State Board, Samy Vellu said he had discussed the idea of an all-India express highway with the Prime Minister at the ASEAN Summit held at Kuala Lumpur earlier this year, pointing out the need for building world-class infrastructure in India to attract more foreign investments.

However, the final plan for the all-India express highway project, including the estimate cost, will be completed shortly and is expected to be submitted to the Indian government in the next few months.

He suggested that Malaysian companies could bring in about 10 billion Ringgits with the government too sharing a portion of the project cost.

The remaining fund required could be mobilised through various sources, he said.

The expressway could be developed in phases. Malaysian government has suggested that in the initial phase, an expressway connecting southern capitals – Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram – could be built.

Earlier, addressing the inaugural function, he said that Malaysia emerged as a key player in the construction sector globally in about 10 years.

It had, so far, earned about $9.4 billion by executing projects worldwide, with one-third of its revenue coming from India.