Chennai: Infrastructure and real estate developer MARG Ltd on Monday announced its tie-up with US-based VirginiaTech University to set up their Indian arm.

“We are very happy to sign up with Virginia Technology... Though they are primarily in agriculture, they are into every aspect of education. But here they are in four sectors as the city is the technology base,” MARG Ltd managing director GRK Reddy told reporters in Chennai.

The campus would come up on a 30-acre site and focus on auto-transportation, nano-engineering, life sciences and Bio-informatics areas, he said.

The programmes to be offered and students intake would be decided after the Bill allowing foreign universities to set up subsidiary was passed in the Parliament, he said.

He declined to give details on the course structure and investments made by MARG since the bill was yet to be passed.

VirginiaTech associate vice-president for international affairs, S K De Datta, in a video presentation, said, “This is part of our International strategy plan to have a foot print in Asia. This (tie-up) was in the radar screen of our college for the last three years,” he said.

The university would offer graduate and doctoral programmes, he added.

The Union Cabinet on 15 March gave its approval for the Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry and Operation) Bill, 2010, to allow foreign education providers set up campuses in India and offer degrees.