China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) - China's largest rail and road construction company - has expressed keen interest in investing in India's highway projects. This is in response to the Indian government's sustained effort to attract global investor's interest to its struggling infrastructure sector.

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Top officials of CRCC held an hour-long discussion with National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Head Raghav Chandra earlier this week, India's business daily Economic Times reported.    

"They are keen on bidding for around 3,000-km highway contracts. They will be participating in hybrid annuity, build-operate transfer (BOT) and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) models," Chandra told Economic Times.

Times of India reported that CRCC is planning to invest around Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 crore in Indian highway projects, with investment spanning across both government funded and public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

If CRCC's investment proposal is accepted by the Indian government, then it would be the largest foreign investment in India's embattled road sector. However, the Chinese company will have to first fulfill many tough requirements set by the Indian government.    

CRCC's investment proposal in India assumes immense importance in the wake of recent diplomatic tension between India and China. Although experts never expected Indo-China economic relations to be directly affected by recent tensions, many felt that in future Chinese companies may find it tough to invest in India.  

CRCC, which has a market capitalization of around $250 billion, is often credited for playing a critical role in transforming China's infrastructure. It built 80 percent of China's rail network and 60 percent of it highway projects.

TagsChina Railway Construction Corporation, china, China and India, India