Janjivan Bureau / Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe today laid the foundation stone for India’s first bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. On the occasion, Abe said the Indo-Japan partnership is special, strategic and global.
“A strong India is in Japan’s interest and a strong Japan is in India’s interest,” Abe said after laying the foundation stone of the project at a ground at Sabarmati in Ahmedabad.
“My good friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a far-sighted leader. He took a decision two years ago to bring high-speed train in India and to create a new India,” he said.
“I hope to enjoy the beautiful scenery of India through the windows of the bullet train when I come back here in a few years,” Abe said.
The Rs 1.10 lakh crore train project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai is expected to be completed by 2022. The train would cover the distance of over 500 km in around two hours.
Japan has extended a soft loan for the ambitious project conceptualised by Modi.
The project is a joint venture between Indian Railways and Japan’s Shinkansen Technology.
The prime ministers of the two countries also laid the foundation stone for an institute that will come up at Vadodara where around 4,000 people will be trained for the bullet train project.
PM Narendra Modi addresses the gathering at the function of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project in Ahmedabad. PM Modi says India has taken a huge step towards fulfilling its decades-long dream. The PM congratulates the people of India on the launch of bullet train project. PM credits Japan PM Shinzo Abe for the launch the project. The bullet train project will create jobs, it is human and eco-friendly, PM Modi asserts.
We are now moving from connectivity to ‘high-speed connectivity’, the PM says adding that this is not the time for slow and steady development, its time to move with pace. PM Modi heaps praise on the Japanese leader saying Shinzo Abe values India a true friend.
The PM thanks Japan for helping India by sanctioning the huge amount of money at a nominal interest rate and technology for the high-speed rail project. Japan has agreed to provide Rs 88,000 crore at an interest rate of 0.1 percent to help India set up the bullet train, the PM says.
The bullet train project will provide thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities, PM announces. The PM says his government is focussed on developing waterways, railways and highways. While Japan will be providing the technology, the bullet train will be assembled in India, says the Prime Minister.
Our railway network is so huge that number of people travelling in trains every week in India is equal to Japan’s total population, the PM says.
The PM thanks Gujarat Chief MInister Vijay Rupani and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis for extending full support to the bullet train project.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis were present on the occasion
