Kuala Lumpur-based non-resident Indian business tycoon Vinod Sekhar has donated 8 million pounds for the setting up of a medical school in Scotland which will conduct research in areas such as cancer, psychology and infectious diseases.

The total cost of building the centre at the University of St Andrews will be around 45 million pounds.

The school will be named after Sekhar's father, Dr B C Sekhar, who is known in Malaysia as the father of the natural rubber industry.

"This is about establishing Scotland as a world-leading centre for multi-disciplinary leading edge research," Dr Brian Lang, Principal and vice-chancellor of the University, told The Scotsman.

"It's about finding a solution for diseases and problems that are worldwide," he said.

Thirty-nine-year-old Sekhar, a businessman who runs a technology conglomerate named Petra Group, said he was delighted to be involved.

"What I saw when I visited St Andrews in December was a major university that has an integrated approach to the sciences in terms of research and development and I'm very pleased to be involved," he said.

Part of Sekhar's donation will be used to finance a scholarship fund which will allow students from across Asia to study at St Andrews. The medical school is expected to start construction this summer, pending planning approval, and is due to be completed by 2010.

As part of the deal, a new company will also be formed, Petra Biophotonics, in partnership with the University, which will aim to bring St Andrews' medical science research to market.