Jammu and Kashmir to beef up public-private partnership

JAMMU - Jammu and Kashmir is looking to enter partnership deals with the private sector for building infrastructure in the state, where a 20-year-old insurgency has dealt a huge blow to infrastructural development.

“We are looking for partnerships with big industrial houses and corporations to build infrastructure in the state,” Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said here Tuesday.

Addressing a meeting of ministers, senior officers and representatives of Hindustan Construction Corp (HCC), Abdullah said the key areas of focus would be tourism, power, transport and bridges and tunnels.

The state, according to him, is facing “huge crisis” of connectivity and power shortage, and there is a need to develop new tourist areas and infrastructure like roads, buildings and uninterrupted water and power supply.

The state government is committed to building world class tourist infrastructure in the state to restore its pristine glory in tourism sector, said the chief minister.

“There are numerous health resorts and places of natural beauty like Bangus Valley which the government wants to showcase globally,” Abdullah said.

“Health and education sectors could be other fields of mutual interests.”

Appreciating HCC for building the historic Mughal Road on fast-track, the chief minister said the construction giant’s “high class expertise” provided a good scope for public-private partnership projects in the state.

The 84-km Mughal Road, which links Shopian in Kashmir Valley with Poonch in Jammu, is nearing completion.

Abdullah also expressed hope that the construction of Chutak, Uri and Nimoo Bazgo hydro-electric power projects executed by the HCC would be put on fast track for early completion.

“People are eagerly waiting for these projects”, he said.