Karnataka Minister for Science and Technology Dr C N Ashwath Narayan said on Thursday that investors from Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) countries have shown a keen interest to set up a world class ‘Design District’ on the city’s outskirts. The minister, who returned from a four-day visit to Dubai Expo 2020, said that a delegation of investors from the GCC countries like the UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt were interested in investing in the state.

GCC is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union comprising countries like the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. Narayan said that the proposed Rs 1,000-crore Design District will come up on 100-to 150-acre land.

“The proposed design district will be way ahead than the one in Dubai. Industrial designs of all kinds required for any sector will be made available in the proposed design district,” Dr Narayan said. The minister added that a Bengaluru Design Festival would be held here. The minister visited the Dubai Design district to explore the design, art and technology ecosystem.

Narayan said that a delegation from the GCC countries would visit the state in November to sign several Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) on various investment proposals.

“Through Dubai, the Government of Karnataka intends to broad base its reach and strengthen its relationship with other GCC countries,” he said.

Narayan said that Gulf Islamic Investment (GII) plans to set up its office in Bengaluru to further strengthen the Indo-UAE investment.