India set to spend HK$113 billion on Japan’s shinkansen bullet train; first for developing nation
Questions remain over 500km rail project’s financing in light of China rail offer
India is making final arrangements to adopt Japanese bullet train technology for a high-speed railway project, with the leaders of the two countries set to unveil the agreement in a joint statement this week, a Japanese government source said on Tuesday.
The statement following talks between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday is expected to incorporate this accord, which would mark India's first high-speed railway project, the source said.
Abe's meeting with Modi during his three-day visit to India from Friday will come at a time Japan hopes to regain lost ground after losing out to China in its bid to secure a key high-speed railway contract in Indonesia.
The proposed railway of about 500km will link Mumbai in western India and Ahmadabad, north of Mumbai, in roughly two hours, the source said.
Construction of the project, which is estimated to cost 980 billion rupee (HK$113.7 billion), will begin in 2017, with the aim of starting railway operations in 2023.
Tokyo has sounded New Delhi out about a plan for Japan to provide yen loans on the premise that the railway contract will be given to a consortium of Japanese firms, the source said.