Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 1: Middle East-based business tycoon Ravi Pillai, who won India's highest award for overseas citizens early this month, has said that the Gulf boom will continue for another decade.

Pillai - whose company has stakes in oil and gas refineries and petrochemical companies in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates - also said that his company would provide 30,000 new jobs for Indians.

"Of this, 20,000 jobs would be reserved for Keralites and it would include skilled jobs to even fresh engineers. The boom will create thousands of new jobs for Keralites, who are considered one of most dedicated workers in the Middle East," Pillai told said.

He also said he was ready to invest any amount in Kerala and the immediate one would be a Rs.1.2 billion ($40 million) five-star hotel project in his hometown of Kollam.

"I am also keen to invest in minerals and mining sector. The need of the hour in Kerala is to improve the basic infrastructure because tourism is one sector that has huge potential in the state," he said.

Besides providing jobs to thousands of Indians in the Gulf, Pillai is also engaged in philanthropic activities and has set up the Upasana Hospital and Research Centre in Kerala, which gives free treatment to the poor.