New Delhi: Finally Bullet Train project is getting the much needed impetus. As per Business Standard reports, Japan The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed an agreement with the Indian government to provide an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 89,547 million Japanese Yen (approximately Rs 5,500 crore) as Tranche 1 on the ‘Project for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR)’ corridor, commonly known as bullet train project.
The purpose of MAHSR is to build up a high-frequency mass transportation system. The proposed route for building the High-Speed Rail is between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The project will be made on lines of Japan’s Shinkansen technology (Bullet Train). This will go a long in way in enhancing mobility in India as well as aid in regional economic development.
JICA said in a statement that Japanese state-owned funding agency has also signed another agreement to provide ODA loan of 25,903 million Japanese Yen (approximately Rs 1,600 crore) for building a metro rail system between Howrah Maiden to Salt Lake Sector V, including an underwater section, as a part of the ‘Kolkata East-West Metro Project (III).’
Business Standard further reports that the Kolkata East-West Metro Project (III) will tone down traffic jams, bring down air pollution, decrease road accidents and facilitate smoother travel for commuters. The metro project will link Howrah Maiden to Salt Lake Sector V through Esplanade and make available an enhanced admission to the public from the west gateway area to the central business district as well as the residential-cum-institutional complex areas.
Two ODA loan agreements were signed between Katsuo Matsumoto the Chief Representative, JICA India and C S Mohapatra the Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance.
Matsumoto said MAHSR is will become the economic pulse as had the Shinkansen done for Japan. With this project, they look forward to simplify mobility, offer seamless connectivity and augment regional economic development with a safe and dependable inter-city transport system.
The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is the Executing Agency of the MAHSR Project.
