India's first bullet train project may face delay.
The Railways have said a "real timeframe" for the completion of the Mumbai -Ahmedabad bullet train plan has to be "reassessed" as the land acquisition for the project has been delayed due to the coronavirus crisis, and a clear the timeline can be provided in the next three to six months.
Chairman and CEO of the Railway Board V K Yadav in a press briefing also denied reports that the Japanese firms were not keen on the project. He said that it is true that the tenders and land acquisition was delayed a bit due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he can say that the project is progressing well.
Yadav's comments came amid reports that the bullet train project may fail to meet its December 2023 deadline.
He further said that, in any linear project like the bullet train project, work can only begin when a certain amount of land is available. They are hoping that within the next three to six months, they will be able to get to that point where we have 90-100 percent of the land. Their designs are ready and we are set to go.
The railway board chairman also said that, as the COVID19 situation improves, the Railways will start the bidding process and within the next three to six months, they will be able to get the status of land acquired. It will then be the appropriate time to reassess the project. Once the land status is ascertained, they can provide a real timeframe for the completion of the project.
He, however, did not confirm that the the project will meet the December 2023 deadline.
Denying reports that the Japanese firms were not keen on the project, he said both Indian and Japanese companies were onboard and urged people to disregard such rumors.
He also said reacting to reports that Japanese firms were not interested in the project, that it is not correct. The Japanese are very much interested in the project, there is no doubt about it. This is an extraordinary situation. It is difficult for them to come here during a pandemic and they have to keep that in mind. He further said that he wants to tell you all that there is a lot of interest from everyone whether it is the Japanese companies or Indian.
He added that due to the pandemic situation, international travels were banned. Such kinds of projects require a lot of survey works and hence Japanese companies could not participate. They had advance information about that. As land issues improve, they will start the bidding process again.
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01-2026
