Japan set to win Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train contract
09 Dec 2015
Japan is expected to win the contract to construct India's first bullet train, after losing an Indonesian high-speed rail deal to China, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.
Japan will offer more than 1 trillion yen ($8.11 billion) in loans to construct India's Rs980 billion fast train, according to the report.
Japan recently lost the bid to build Indonesia's first fast-train because Beijing provided a $5 billion loan without guarantees.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, due to visit India this week, and his counterpart Narendra Modi are expected to issue a joint statement on the deal, the Nikkei said.
Tokyo was picked to assess the feasibility of building the 505 km corridor linking Mumbai with Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Modi's home state Gujarat, and concluded it would be technically and financially viable.
Construction of the high-speed railway link will start from 2017 and will be completed in 2023, the Nikkei reported.