ICICI Bank plans $20-23 billion funding for India''s infrastructure sector

Mumbai: ICICI Bank is anticipating investmement of $20-$23 billion in the Indian infrastructure space as investor focus shifts over the next few years.

"ICICI Bank believes that it would contribute $20-23 billion in the $500 billion capital expenditure requirement of the infrastructure sector in the next three years," the bank''s deputy managing director Chanda Kochhar said in an interview.

She said the sector would need about $500 billion, with infrastructure projects accounting for nearly half this amount, through 2010.

The country''s largest private lender had recently announced a $2 billion infrastructure fund where it is pooling in capital from foreign investors to be invested in various infrastructure projects in India. The bank is already believed to have received commitments for one-fourth of the fund size and is likely to contribute about 15 per cent ($300 million) of its own funds.

ICICI Bank is looking to follow this fund with a larger one worth $5 billion in 2-3 years.