Japan boosts India rail corridor financing

Japan boosts India rail corridor financing    The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) said Thursday it has signed a loan this week with the government of India to help develop the country’s freight rail network.
   The loan, worth $18.5 million, will help build 552 kilometers of rail track for freight traffic in the country’s “western corridor” between Delhi and Mumbai. It is the second phase of the Japanese-Indian collaborative Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project.
   'It is hoped that the cooperative implementation of the DFC Project by Japan and India will become a new symbol of partnership between the two countries,' JICA said in a statement. 'As part of this initiative, a dedicated freight railway line will be constructed, complete with fully automated signals and communication systems. The loan will also fund high-speed trains designed for freight transportation, as well as an initial review of the basic infrastructure design and tender preparation process.'
   Freight traffic in India has increased by an average of 15 percent per year since 1991.
   Japan has supported economic development of India's transport infrastructure since 2002. Three years later then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a joint statement during a visit to India in which he announced the Japanese government’s intention to support the development of India’s western freight corridor through a Japanese loan, leading up to a $1 billion loan for the construction of the corridor’s first phase in 2009.