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Japan poised to win India's bullet train deal – Nikkei

Report says Japan will offer more than $8.11 billion in loans to construct India's 980 billion rupee fast train

Reuters December 08, 2015

The first train of the new Hokuriku shinkansen or bullet train, bound for Tokyo, runs near Shin-Takaoka Station in Takaoka, Toyama prefecture, March 14, 2015, in this aerial view photo taken by Kyodo. PHOTO: REUTERS

TOKYO: Japan is expected to win the right to construct India's first bullet train, after losing an Indonesian high-speed rail deal to China, the Nikkei business daily reported on Tuesday.

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Japan will offer more than 1 trillion yen ($8.11 billion) in loans to construct India's 980 billion rupee 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.

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Tokyo was picked to assess the feasibility of building the 505 kms (313 miles) corridor linking Mumbai with Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Modi's home state, 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.