PHOTO
DUBAI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Dubai ports giant DP World is setto build an inland port in Jammu and Kashmir as part of plans bythe emirate to invest in the Indian territory, the head of theregion said on Thursday.
The Indian government last year said Dubai, part of theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE), would invest in infrastructure andother projects in the disputed region claimed by India andPakistan but ruled in parts by both.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who is inDubai this week to promote investment, said DP World would soonvisit the 250 acre site earmarked for the inland port facility.
"We will finalise it shortly," he told Reuters, describingthe project as a "firm commitment" by state-owned DP World.
A DP World spokesperson said the company had a "productivemeeting" with Sinha on Thursday and that it was preparing aproposal for the project.
The announcement last October that Dubai would invest in theregion was the first by any foreign government since Kashmir'sautonomy was revoked in 2019 and the Muslim-majority state wasdivided into two territories directly ruled by New Delhi.
Emirati newspaper Khaleej Times reported this week thatDubai developer Emaar Properties
Lulu Group, an UAE-headquartered company headed by an Indianbillionaire, also plans to set up a food processing hub there.
But investment in the heavily militarised Jammu and Kashmiris fraught with risk. There are frequent attacks by militants,while the Indian government has at times faced internationalcriticism for widespread crackdowns there by security forces.
"As far militancy is concerned, we are dealing with it ...and I can assure it will be dealt (with) fully" said Sinha, whoinsisted the region was a safe place for foreign investment.
(Reporting by Alexander CornwellEditing by Mark Potter) ((Alexander.Cornwell@thomsonreuters.com;))
