Govt mulling FDI in housing, township

NEW DELHI, Feb 15 (UNI): The government is actively considering to allow foreign direct investment in construction of housing and township, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said today.

"We are now in the process of looking at FDI provisions relating to construction of housing, townships and other built-up infrastructure.

Increased investment in this sector will have multiple benefits," Kamal Nath said while addressing the National Conference on Urban poverty alleviation through sustainable livelihood, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry here.

Kamal Nath, who is minister incharge of FDI, said the UPA Government was committed to encouraging and facilitating investment in infrastructure.

Quoting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Commerce and Industry Minister said the country required at least 150 billion dollars over the next five to 10 years in infrastructure, a major portion of which was required to strengthen the urban infrastructure.

"We have therefore, been reveiwing rules and regulations relating to FDI and rationalising and improving them wherever bottlenecks are noticed," he said.

He said increased investment in housing and infrastructure would generate employment and rejuvenate industrial sectors such as cement and steel.