NRIs keen to invest in UP projects

Leading London-based NRI industrialists have evinced "keen interest" in investing in new projects in Uttar Pradesh including a new airport near Delhi, a senior state official said on Tuesday.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, who made a presentation in London on the business opportunities in the state, assured the industrialists of speedy clearance to projects, which would benefit the state, Rohit Nandan, Uttar Pradesh's information secretary said.

Describing it as a "very good meeting with top industrialists who are literally the Who's Who of NRIs in England," Mayawati told them "wherever the proposals are good they would be dealt with quickly as the state has laid down transparent procedures."

She stressed that the state wants to attract investment for its four Special Economic Zones and four knowledge-based Parks in Noida, which is close to Delhi.

"We are also developing a green field airport near Delhi," she said on Monday night.  "People have evinced keen interest. Details of the projects have been taken by a number of them and in some cases discussions have begun. In others the process will continue," Nandan said.

Accompanied by a high-level delegation including principal secretary P L Puniya and industrial development secretary Sasank Shekar Singh, Mayawati arrived in London on Sunday on a five-nation 16-day trip.

She left for Toronto on Tuesday afternoon. She is scheduled to visit New York, Orlando, Washington, Paris and Zurich before returning to Delhi.