The State government on Friday invited Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ABIA) to invest in the proposed Phase II of Namma Metro project in Bangalore city, that is estimated to cost Rs 27,000 crore.

Chief Secretary S V Ranganth and Additional Chief Secretary K Jairaj extended the invitation to the Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ABIA) Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of a meeting between External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and the Sheikh.

The State Cabinet has recently approved the Phase 11 of the project that is proposed to be implemented under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. The State government has set a deadline  to implement 71-km of Phase II of Namma Metro by 2017.

Besides, the chief secretary invited the ABIA to invest in mega projects like Dabhol-Bidadi gas pipeline project and Bidadi township project. The Sheikh was also invited to take part in the Global Investors' Meet (GIM-II) scheduled to be held in June.

Ranganath also assured to conduct a road show shortly in Abu Dhabi to woo investors. Briefing mediapersons about the meeting External Affairs Minister said ABIA has evinced keen interest in exploring investment opportunities in Karnataka, especially in the sectors of infrastructure, health and energy.