David Cameron pushes Mumbai-Bangalore development corridor
British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday he wanted his country's companies to help India develop new cities and districts along a 1,000 km (600 mile) corridor between Mumbai and Bangalore, generating investment projects worth up to $25 billion.
Kicking off a three-day visit to India with the largest trade delegation taken abroad by a British prime minister, Cameron said he wanted British firms to work with the Indian and British governments to develop nine districts to link Mumbai, India's financial capital, with Bangalore, its tech hub.
"With me I've got architects, planners and finance experts who can work out the complete solution," he told an audience of business people and workers at Hindustan Unilever Limited.
"It would unleash India's potential along the 1,000 km from Mumbai to Bangalore, transforming lives and putting British businesses in prime position to secure valuable commercial deals."
India should open up its markets to allow foreign direct investment in hitherto closed sectors, he added.
His office said forecasts showed 5.8 percent of India's population growth would be in the corridor, contributing 11.8 percent of the country's gross domestic product growth by 2020.
The first phase of the project would involve investment in physical infrastructure, such as transport networks, telecommunications and power generation. Later construction would concentrate on social infrastructure such as welfare and education.
India has pushed the building of giant development "corridors" to accelerate the growth of its manufacturing base, which has lagged behind its IT and services industry.
The government has also planned to build 24 new industrial
