Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's overseas investment arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd, has secured two major projects in Sudan for laying of a 714 km pipeline from Khartoum to Port Sudan for carrying crude oil product and revamping of a refinery in the Port of Sudan at a cost of $750 million.

Talking to reporters accompanying President A P J Abdul Kalam on his three-day visit to Sudan, Atul Chandra, managing director and CEO of ONGC Videsh, said, "We are the largest investor in Sudan and the biggest challenge that we had to face here was to replace a Canadian company and at the same time we had to ensure that the Sudanese government did not feel we are any less and we have been able to maintain it."

He said his company would encourage the Indian firms to invest in these two projects playing the role of "door opener" and encourage the Indian business to invest in this African nation.

Chandra said China had invested $20 billion in this country and are providing a tough competition to the Indian business with even American companies evincing keen interest in investing here.

Besides oil exploration, ONGC Videsh is also playing a major role in the social sphere donating $400,000 to a football club, financing two hospitals and two ambulances and a cancer treatment hospital for which it has donated $160,000 towards purchase of equipment.

It is also assisting in the setting up of a limb camp here where 'Jaipur foot' would be provided to patients, he said.

The company also proposes to provide financial assistance for the setting up of a library at Khartoum University and also provide high quality school bags to children in the capital city, he said.

Chandra said the company would also be giving 10,000 footballs to children as part of its social welfare scheme.