India seeks foreign JVs for tunnel construction

New Delhi: Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday favoured giving a majority 51 per cent stake to foreign partners in joint ventures for building tunnels and detailed project reports to improve work quality.

Gadkari said providing a majority stake to a foreign partner in the joint venture is necessary to ensure that only serious and technically qualified players bid for tunnel projects. In a lighter vein, Gadkari said that in some tunnel projects, European companies even choose Indian partners who own caterer services or beauty parlours for the construction of tunnels.