Kochi: The Kerala government proposed to set up a "fast-track" mechanism on a war- footing to ensure easy clearance and implementation of the nearly Rs 26,000 crore investment proposals, which came up at the two-day Global Investor Meet (GIM), Chief Minister A K Antony said on January 20.

Of the Rs 26,000-crore investment proposals, Rs 10,000 crore was announced by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for public sector projects when he inaugurated the meet on January 18.

In his first post-GIM press conference, Antony said the mechanism would be put in place as soon as possible to implement the projects on a transparent manner. "We will process the memoranda of understanding and projects which have come up at the GIM after following all procedures and there will be no delay."

Thanking the media for the "wide and positive coverage" of the high-profile meet, both within and outside the state, Antony said the "GIM spirit' would be followed up.

The GIM had been an "overwhelming success", he said, adding that the strategy of proactively identifying investment opportunities and placing them before the investor community had "paid off very well". Investor interest has been received for a number of projects and MoUs signed with many others.

Investment announcements had been made for projects covering all the vital areas of infrastructure, industries and services sectors, he added.

Replying to a question, Antony said the government had received seven enquiries, including one from a Malaysian company, for the prestigious Express Highway project.

He said MoUs had been entered into for 95 projects in the private sector, totalling Rs 11,151 crore. Firm offers had been received from the Reliance Group, Infosys, Microsoft, Sutherland-USA and E-City project, among others, totalling Rs 3,000 crore.

Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty said expressions of interest (EOI) had been received for 12 projects, involving a total investment of about Rs 1,785 crore.

PTI