Punjab eyes Rs 1 lakh crore investment

The Punjab government is expecting an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in infrastructure projects by the end of this calendar year that would generate employment opportunities for over 20 lakh people.

"Presently, we have attracted Rs 73,000 crore (Rs 730 billion) of investment in mega projects, which include housing, multiplexes, malls etc. By the end of this December, we expect that the total investment would touch Rs 1 lakh crore," Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said.

In tomorrow's empowered committee meeting, the government expects that projects worth Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion) would come up for approval. Besides multiplexes and malls, the government is expecting a sizeable investment into housing projects.

"So far, we have approved two housing projects in Ludhiana and Mohali and 14 more housing and townships projects would be launched in the coming month," he said.

Regarding the participation of corporates into Punjab agriculture, the Chief Minister said that besides Bharti and Reliance, Godrej and ITC have also evinced interests in setting up agri business projects.